


To Hold the Darkness

by Ruunkur



Series: During The Quiet Nights [3]
Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: A lot of digimon I don't want to tag, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate digimon evolution, But this also covers some plot holes that were in roommates, Drama, How did a one shot spurred by a single line prompt on tumblr get so out of control?, Jogress evolution does not make sense to me, M/M, My for shits and giggles fanfic spurred a for shits and giggles retelling fic, Not as many terribly written action scenes, Rewritten in a month, Romance?, Roommates told from Daisuke's POV, The unasked for companion fic to Roommates, There are a lot of questions answered, This more than likely has plot holes, the world may never know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-05-27 19:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 71,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15031424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruunkur/pseuds/Ruunkur
Summary: "I've had a crush on my roommate for years. But my boyfriend is possessed by a dark entity and I'm trying my best to not lose my shit yet your look of betrayel makes me want to beg for your forgiveness." - A story of brokenheartedness as told by Daisuke





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo, y'all know the story as told by Takeru. Now, here's Daisuke's version of events! Things make a lot more sense. You get the true story of the couch. You learn how long Daisuke knew, and what happened in the base.
> 
> Maybe won't make sense if you don't read "The Problem With Roommates" beforehand? Not sure though!
> 
> And, there is the ever present playlist [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwE3Ngs6wvmHNCC5sLUUL5jeL1SCY-G6K) that has been updated to include songs for this story, as well as Roommates!

Daisuke pushed himself into a sitting position, the nineteen year old feeling the aftermath of a night of drinking clinging to his consciousness. He shook his head, picking up his phone to see that it was only nine in the morning, a message having been what had awoken him so early.

_How are you feeling?_

He frowned at the message, his finger hovering over the response button. He consider going back to bed before selecting reply.

_like i was run over, u?_

He got up from his bed, making his way to the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. From his roommate's bedroom, he could hear Takeru grumbling, though what he had been doing up this early after drinking was a mystery to Daisuke.

_I'm well, you drank quite a lot last night. I am not surprised you have a hangover_

Daisuke glanced down as he heard the message go off, having set down his phone on the counter. He finished brushing his teeth, grimacing at the taste of alcohol before shaking his head.

_i drank responsibly_

He hardly set the phone down before a response came.

_You were taking two shots for every one Takaishi did._

Daisuke grimaced, trying to recall most of the night before shrugging. When Ken was right, he was right.

_ill take ur word for it_

_Listen, we need to talk. Can you meet me at eleven? The one by your place, easier to get to._

Daisuke frowned as he squinted at the message, hesitating as he tried to consider what it was that Ken would want to talk about.

_i can...wut bout?_

_I'll see you then._

He felt his stomach twist at the too hastily sent response, turning and heading into the kitchen to begin cooking. His fingers danced along the counters as he tried to understand what Ken would have wanted to talk about, preparing the best food he knew for hangovers.

He spent the next several hours cooking, marking everything with dates and what they were before storing them in the fridge and taking the short walk to the cafe. He was there earlier than he needed to be, but the nervousness that ate at him kept him from being able to stay in one place for long.

It was almost a relief when Ken walked through the door.

"You...wanted to talk with me?" Daisuke asked, nervously sitting in the cafe chair. He glanced up from his picked at pastry, Ken offering him a pained smile as he sat.

"I'm sorry, I believe I picked a poor word choice when I sent you that message." Ken said, leaning out and resting his hand on Daisuke's hand as it tapped against the table. "I...before we progress any further in our relationship, there is something I have to tell you."

"This isn't about breaking up with me?" Daisuke asked, relief evident on his face as Ken shook his head. He began to relax, tensing when he saw the pain in Ken's gaze reflected once more.

"I'm dying," he said slowly. "It's-"

"Dying?" Daisuke asked, cutting him off before he could continue.

"Yes, dying." Ken agreed, not worried by the interruption. "It's not a disease that a hospital can help with. It's not a disease at all, in fact. I'm going go tell you things that you have to promise to keep quiet. These are things that you can't tell anyone, understand?"

"Okay," Daisuke said, tilting his head in confusion. "What sort of things?"

Ken took a breath, looking at the cup of tea in between his hands before he began to speak. "When I was younger, prior to my elder brother's death, I went to a world that was known to me as the digital world. I went on adventures with a young man by the name of Akiyama Ryo. You'll have heard of the digimon attacks that happened in ninety nine. I was never apart of that, but I knew of the digital world. I still know of the digital world. I had-and still have-a partner by the name of Wormmon. He's friendly and I'll introduce you two when we have the time. But, while I was in the digital world, I became infected by something. I believe it's called a darkspore. I never found the origins of it myself, despite trying to find anything I could about it.

"In two thousand and two, I disappeared for two years. I remember the first six months or so of those quite easily. I was in the digital world. The....voices....had me convinced that I was in a game. I fought against the chosen children, one of whom is your roommate, and the other is his best friend. You know them quite well, Yagami Hikari and Takaishi Takeru. I am more than positive that they still see their partners, though you have to understand that, as I am telling you this, you cannot let them know that you know." He paused, grimacing. "Do you understand?"

Daisuke nodded, sitting back in his chair and picking at his pastry once more. "Okay," he agreed softly.

"For the rest of the year and a half I was missing, I have no memory beyond a place that was further advanced in technology than our own world was. There was a voice, stronger than the others, that I had let in. I thought it would help me, rather it took control of me instead. I fought against my own body for nearly two years. Eventually, I won free and found myself back in the human world. I still had my D-3 and Leafmon-Wormmon's baby form-was with me. He told me things that I didn't understand, not then. I would have thought he hated me, but he stuck by my side, regardless. Things that I had done under the guise of the name of the digimon Kaiser. Things I was distraught to hear, when I later found out.

"Upon returning home, I found parents who mourned me. I...I still do not know the extent of the destruction I had caused for the digital world. I'm telling you this because the being that controlled me for that year and a half still resides in my body. I...I love you Daisuke and that scares me. This, scares me." Ken whispered, his voice far more controlled as he told Daisuke than he thought it would be.

"We can defeat it together." Daisuke said when Ken paused.

"No, this is not something we can fight together." Ken said with a shake of his head. "If it gets to be too much again, I want you to kill me, please."

"We can-I'm not-" Daisuke stared at him, eyes wide. "Kill you?" He whispered.

"I wish there was another way but, as I've found, if I were to die...then the evil would die with me. It would be...it would be trapped with me and I could take it to my grave. What I know is that the evil cannot walk amongst the digital world again. It would cause all hell to break loose." Ken reached across the table, taking Daisuke's hands in his own. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't..."

"I'll do it," Daisuke whispered, his voice growing hoarse as he realized the horror that he agreed to. "If it means...if it makes you happy, I'll do it. But I'm not doing it until I know that there is no more you in your body. Where that evil is the only thing that resides. It's possible it never even happens anyway, right?"

"Daisuke..." Ken murmured, caught off guard as Daisuke stood, leaning over and kissing Ken with a grimace. "Thank you," he whispered.

"I don't want to do it," Daisuke warned. "But...for you, I will. I would do _anything_ for you Ken." He stated, gaze locked on the teenager.

"It's always a hard thing to ask of someone, I'm sorry." Ken murmured.

"Does this mean that the thing won't try....try to do anything?" Daisuke asked, a look of confusion flashing across his face. "I mean-"

"It is quite possible that the spore has completely retreated and will never be a problem again." Ken interrupted, taking Daisuke's hands in his own. "I've begun researching that very topic, but I want...a safety net in place, just in case."

"This spore..." Daisuke shook his head.

"It's...it's more than a spore. It's going to kill me, even if it doesn't activate the darkness." Ken said, finding the subject hard to explain. He glanced around the small cafe, standing up suddenly. "Why don't I show you what I have at home?"

"Research," Daisuke guessed.

"A bit of it, and I'd like you to meet my partner." He explained.

"Are there others?" Daisuke asked, getting up from the table and following Ken out of the shop.

"Others?" Ken asked with a frown.

"Ya know, others that have been to the digital world." He explained, keeping his voice soft even as they walked the streets. Ken headed towards the train, Daisuke dimly recalling that he was a ten minute train ride from his own shared apartment. He had been to Ken's place all of once, and hadn't thought much of it when the other teenager had insisted that they meet up at Daisuke's when he had moved out of his parents' home six months ago.

"Of course there are others." Ken said, shaking his head. "But, we can discuss that at my place, no need to do it here." He gestured around him, Daisuke nodding slowly as he reached over, taking Ken's hand.

"What are the plans for tonight?" He asked.

"I'll show you some of my research, but after that...." He shrugged, shaking his head. "Nothing,"

"I'll make dinner then." Daisuke decided.

"Still aiming for your own food cart?" He asked.

"I was thinking full fledged restaurant." Daisuke responded with a grin. "While my cooking has been getting better, it still has a long ways to go. Which reminds me, mind if we stop at a store along the way? I don't know what you have at your place."

"Of course," Ken said with a nod.

It was several hours before they finally made it home, Daisuke carrying two bags of carefully chosen ingredients. Ken pulled the keys out of his pocket, brushing hair behind his ear.

He opened the door, flipping on the light switch. Daisuke stepped in behind him, gaze curiously scanning Ken's apartment. It was orderly, several stacks of paper sitting on a desk, a laptop closed. He glanced towards Ken, arching an eyebrow.

"What?" Ken asked, meeting his gaze.

"I would have thought it was a mess, by reason of you never having me over." He explained, shaking his head.

"No, I just have sensitive information that I don't want you messing up." Ken responded with a shake of his head.

"Your research?" Daisuke guessed.

"Yes," Ken responded, blinking as Daisuke put the bags on the counter in the kitchen, quickly stepping back towards him and catching his wrist.

"We have some time," he said with a grin, leaning forward and kissing him lightly.

"Ken?"

Daisuke jumped when he heard the voice, Ken clearing his throat. "The real reason I wanted you to stay out of my apartment." He admitted, bending down to pick up the small green worm that had come crawling to them. It looked towards Daisuke, blinking slowly.

"Who is that?" He asked, sounding to Daisuke almost sulky.

"Wormmon, this is my boyfriend, Daisuke." Ken said, gesturing to Daisuke as Wormmon shifted in his arms.

"He looks funny," Wormmon decided. "He's probably dull and not worth your time."

"I'm standing-" Daisuke tried to protest, Ken letting out a small laugh.

"He's okay, I promise." Ken said, Wormmon moving up to Ken's shoulder and giving Daisuke a hard stare.

"We'll see," he sniffed.

"How about food?" Daisuke said, gesturing towards the bags and grinning. The digimon gave him a hard look, Daisuke deciding that he would win him over, no matter what.

*****

Ken set his pencil down as he heard knocking on the door, shoving the notebook aside. He got up from the desk, placing a hand on his back and grunting, glancing at the time. He walked towards the door, opening it to a beaming Daisuke.

"What do I owe the pleasure?" He asked, stepping aside to let him in.

"I thought I would come by and surprise you." Daisuke responded. "It's been a few days and I was...." He trailed off, shaking his head.

Ken offered him a smile, nodding. "It's always a pleasure to see you Daisuke," he said, hearing the front door click shut. He stepped forward, kissing Daisuke hard, forcing him to take a step back. He grinned when he heard Daisuke hit the door, raising his hands to Daisuke's hair, a small cough interrupting the kiss and preventing either of them from going any further.

"Hey Wormmon," Daisuke said, taking a sharp breath and turning to grin at the digimon, Wormmon looking up from his spot on the table.

"We're researching," the digimon said pointedly to Daisuke.

"He's come to help us." Ken said, taking Daisuke's hand and leading him to the table.

"I came to cook," Daisuke interjected as Wormmon gave him a hard look.

"We're going to the digital world first." Ken explained over his shoulder to Daisuke, beginning to pull on his shoes. "You’re welcome to cook while we’re away."

"No way, I want to go with you!" Daisuke said, turning to Ken and grinning. "You told me a lot about the digital world in the past two months, I want to see it for myself."

"I'm not sure..." Ken hesitated, smiling up at Daisuke. "I'll have to hope that the gate lets you in, it should..." He frowned, considering the idea. "Yes, it should, even without...."

"Please?" Daisuke asked, reaching forward and touching his shoulder. Ken turned, meeting his gaze. "I want to be able to help you."

"It's too dangerous," Wormmon responded, Ken letting out a soft chuckle.

"That's why we have you." He said, turning to his partner. "You'll always be there to protect us, won't you Wormmon?"

The digimon hesitated, glancing at Daisuke and frowning. "Does it have to include him?" He asked, Daisuke pretending he didn't hear the comment as he put his prepped ingredients into the fridge. He was prepared to throw everything on the stove as soon as they got back, excited by the prospect of going to the digital world.

"It doesn’t have to include him, but I would like it to include him.” Ken explained with a gentle voice, Wormmon considering the idea. He gave a slow nod, Ken smiling at him. “Thank you,”

"Thank you," Daisuke added, turning to Wormmon and bowing to him. "I appreciate you putting up with me."

"I guess you make good food." Wormmon said finally, Ken walking over to his desk and opening his laptop. Daisuke followed at his side, looking up as he picked up a strange device.

"It's a D-3," Ken said, allowing Daisuke to pick up the device and look it over. He rattled it, Ken suppressing a sigh and rolled his eyes as Daisuke handed it back. He pointed it towards the gate, Daisuke watching as it went from red to flashing before he felt himself sucked into it.

It was strange, in the moment that he had been standing on the floor, to the next moment of landing on a sandy dune. He had felt himself be split and reconfigured, his mind seeming to be everywhere at once. He pushed himself up even as Ken offered him a hand, the other having landed on a rock formation, rather than the sand dunes.

"Wow," Daisuke said, turning in a slow circle. He let out a low whistle, seeing the forest in the distance.

"We have to go this way," Ken said, indicating the stairs heading into the canyon.

"What's this way?" Daisuke asked, quickly following him. He glanced down, noting that the clothes he wore were different than what he had been wearing before. He paused to take off the jacket, studying it before tying it around his waist, finding the heat with the jacket almost unbearable.

"The old base," Wormmon answered, Ken frowning and shaking his head.

"Normally I wouldn't....I would avoid it, but I was hoping it would have a file or something in its system about the spore." Ken explained, Daisuke trailing behind to take everything in, pausing when he saw something strange in a divot.

"Hey, what's this?" He asked, Ken turning to look back at him when he heard the question. He walked the few steps backward, standing at Daisuke's side.

"It's a digimental," he said, sliding into the divot. Daisuke followed, nearly falling when they got to the bottom. "The...teenagers that fought against the kaiser used two digimentals, similar to this one. They were the digimentals of light and hope."

"Hikari and Takeru," Daisuke breathed, his gaze darting to Ken.

"That's right," Wormmon responded.

"There are several more of these, but they never collected them." Ken explained, watching as Daisuke knelt down, moving to touch the digimental. He let out a yelp as he felt a shock run through him when he touched the horn on the digimental, shaking his hand.

"That's-" he began, Ken stifling a laugh.

"They shock you if they don't belong to you." He explained.

"How'd you find that out?" Daisuke asked, moving to climb out of the divot. He frowned when he heard the wind rustle, tipping his head back.

"I-" Ken began, falling silent as Daisuke held up a finger. He closed his eyes, focusing on the wind whistling through the canyon, shivering as a shadow fell over them. "Let's get out of here," Ken offered, climbing out as well. Daisuke brushed himself off, glancing back down at the divot as he heard the voice call out his name one more time.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"As I was saying, I had tried to remove the digimentals myself and could get none of them to budge." Ken explained, the silence unsettling him as they walked further into the canyon.

"So they're meant for specific people?" Daisuke asked.

"Possibly as neither Yagami and Takaishi collected any others. I believe they tried, but I don't..." He shook his head, offering Daisuke a strained smile. He felt comforted when Daisuke reached out, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers together.

"Maybe it just wasn't time," Daisuke said with a small shrug. "You never know, someone may yet pop up to claim the digimentals."

"The whole matter is laid to rest." Wormmon said with conviction, Daisuke glancing at him with a small frown. "There is no reason to believe that the kaiser would come back. It's just Ken." The digimon insisted.

"I know that," Ken agreed, leaning down and easily picking up his partner. "But you always have to be prepared for the what ifs, you know?"

"No," Wormmon said with a shake of his head, the trio coming to the deserted base at the end of the canyon. Daisuke felt a shiver run down his spine as Ken headed towards the door, entering a passcode. He followed the pair inside, jumping when the door slammed shut and lights flickered on.

"Creepy," he whispered, hearing his voice echo back to him.

"Very," Ken agreed, glancing towards him. "It was an efficient base, from what I recall...."

"Did you build it?" Daisuke asked.

"I....no," Ken said with a shake of his head. "If I recall, it was simply here when I returned. It's always bothered me to how it got here, but it had everything I....needed..." He hesitated over the word choice, Daisuke taking his hand tightly.

"Don't worry about it." He promised, leaning over and kissing Ken's cheek lightly. 

The trio began to walk down the hall, Ken glancing this way and that as he looked for something. By muscle memory, he lead Daisuke to the main control room, shuddering as they passed through the door and into the room. Daisuke watched Wormmon move closer to his partner, the digimon seeming to huddle against Ken's leg.

"You don't have to be here," Daisuke said softly, watching as Ken glanced at him. He stepped forward, pulling his hand out of Ken's and resting both of them on Ken's shoulders, forcing the teenager to look him in the eye. "You are not this Kaiser." He promised. "You are Ken Ichijouji. You are my boyfriend. Your partner is Wormmon. Nothing is ever going to take you away from me, not as long as I breathe." He said, moving to wrap Ken in a tight hug.

Ken let out a shaky breath, returning the hug and closing his eyes. "Yes, yes, you're right." He said, tightening his grasp on Daisuke's shirt, pulling him closer. "I am not the Kaiser." He repeated, shuddering at the words.

"Nope," Daisuke agreed, kissing him. "We could fuck in the control room." He suggested, straight faced.

"No," Ken responded, taking a step back. "You do an amazing job at killing the mood Motomiya." He responded though Daisuke was able to pick out the amusement in his eyes. "We came here for a reason."

"What was that again?" Daisuke ask, letting him go and following him to the panel, blinking as the holographic monitor appeared. He let out a low whistle, raising an eyebrow. "They've been working on the technology of that for a year or two and still haven't gotten it perfected."

"The digital world is advanced, as far as technology goes." Wormmon responded while Ken bent over the keyboard. His gaze flicked up to the screen every few seconds, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

"It really is." Daisuke said, leaning back in amusement.

Ken finished sending files back to his home computer, turning to look at Daisuke. He frowned when he saw he was alone, raising a hand to reach out where Daisuke had been just a moment before.

_You aren't going to escape._

He whirled on the ball of his foot when he heard the voice, a protest jumping to the tip of his tongue. The voice sounded familiar, sounded like someone he would have talked to, once. He tried to think of where he could place the voice, his mind coming up with no answers.

"Daisuke?" He called, taking a step forward and hearing the sound of water dripping onto the ground. "Daisuke?" He called, growing more and more frantic.

 _He's not here._ The voice teased, Ken shaking his head and threading his hands through his hair.

"This isn't real." He said, closing his eyes. "I am not here. I am with Daisuke, in the digital world. We are getting information and we're leaving. You aren't real, you aren't here!" He shouted, jumping when he heard laughter.

 _I am always here._ The voice promised. He raised a fist as he felt someone touch his shoulder, feeling his knuckles hit skin.

"Ow," Daisuke whined, Ken blinking as he saw the control room once more, Wormmon touching his leg while Daisuke rubbed his jaw, wincing. "Ken?" He asked, raising his hands in front of him to show Ken that he was not a threat.

"I'm sorry," Ken said, letting his other hand free of his hair. "I thought...."

"It's okay," Daisuke promised, leaning forward and taking his hand. "It's going to be okay. Let's get out of here."

"Yeah, okay." Ken agreed, Wormmon looking up from where he had been. The small digimon had moved several steps back, fear having seemed to have crept into him. He came over to Ken readily enough, allowing his partner to pick him up. It was several minutes before the pair began to walk, Daisuke giving Ken the occasional glance.

It wasn't until they had returned to Ken's apartment that he began to speak, having leaned against the counter as Daisuke began to cook.

"When I was younger, I often recall seeing a dark ocean. Everything was wet, there was water dripping. Things I didn't understand, not fully, that would try to talk to me. It had been...years since I've been there..."

"Is that what happened today?" Daisuke asked, Ken glancing up at him with a frown before he gave him a slow nod.

"Yes, I believe that is what happened." He said softly, keeping his voice low so Wormmon wouldn't wake from his nap on the couch. "I thought it was past me. But it looks like it's not… I don't know what to do Daisuke." He admitted, looking down at his hands. "If it happens again..."

"It won't happen." He said, his gaze darting from the food to Ken. "I will make sure that it won't happen. You are not going anywhere Ken."

"I will have to take your faith on it," Ken said, closing his eyes and letting his shoulders droop. He tipped his head back, listening to the sounds of Daisuke moving about the kitchen. When he felt a hand on his side, and a hand in his hair, he jumped, opening his eyes to find Daisuke standing in front of him. He blinked, slowly, allowing the man to kiss him.

*****

Daisuke squirmed, sitting on the couch as he watched Takeru pace around the room, his elbow resting on the couch arm.

"I don't get it," he said finally, watching as Takeru stopped, turning to face him.

"Get what?" Takeru asked, blinking at him.

"Well, aren't you....trying to do something?" He asked, glancing around him. "I mean to say, didn't you have a friend over earlier? There were voices-"

"No Daisuke, I did not have friends over earlier." Takeru said with a roll of his eyes. Daisuke shifted, shaking his head to clear it.

"You never have friends over, what was I thinking." He retorted with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes, it's better than-" Takeru cut himself off, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter."

"You're frustrated at me for your lack of social life?" Daisuke asked. He had been listening to Takeru rant about the decency of what proper roommates did, which did not include making out on the couch, for the last twenty minutes and he was growing bored.

"No, when I come home-" Takeru cut himself off as he heard his phone ring, pulling it out of his pocket and checking the caller ID. He frowned, answering it and walking away.

Daisuke looked down at his own phone, dialing the number that was more familiar to him than his parents, hold his breath until the man answered on the other side.

"Didn't I just leave your apartment Dai?" Ken asked with a small laugh.

"I got a decency rant for the last twenty minutes by Takeru." Daisuke responded, moving to put his feet on the couch.

"Isn't that the couch you brought from your parents?" Ken asked.

"It is indeed," Daisuke responded.

"I don't suppose you told him that the couch has been thoroughly trashed prior to ever bringing it into the apartment?" Ken inquired.

"Look, it's decent enough. And I got it mostly cleaned!" Daisuke protested, glancing up from his lap to see where Takeru was sitting in the kitchen. "Can I come over or something?"

"No, my place is a disaster. Besides, you know..." Ken sighed. "I'm sorry, but I can't have you disrupting my files."

"I know, I just miss seeing you." Daisuke responded.

"We see each other plenty, do we not?" Ken asked, Daisuke picturing him raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but what about moving in together?" Daisuke suggested, hearing Ken splutter at the suggestion.

"I'm sorry?" He asked, coughing and clearing his throat. "Moving...can you repeat that?" He asked.

"Moving in together," Daisuke said. "We're twenty one. I have a job at the restaurant, but-"

"I don't know," Ken said, cutting off anything else he could say. "I...that's something I would have to think about and... I'm not sure." He admitted. "It seems..."

"Like a big step?" Daisuke asked, his gaze flicking up to Takeru as the blond haired man strode back into the room. "There is another thing I gotta talk to you about later. But, later. Love you, bye!" He hung up before Ken could respond, giving Takeru a hard stare. "Anything else you would like to offer?" He asked.

"Can we agree that the couch is not a great place for you and your boyfriend?" Takeru asked.

"It's my couch," Daisuke pointed out.

"It's in the public shared space." Takeru countered.

"You weren't home," Daisuke responded with a shake of his head.

"I...right," Takeru sighed, rubbing his temples. "Well, fine, whatever." He decided, Daisuke sitting back on the couch and watching as Takeru turned and walked away, his gaze falling to Takeru's pants and his ass. He admired the view until Takeru disappeared into his bedroom, turning onto his stomach and playing on his phone as he tried to decide what to do for dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, the word "couch" is used thirteen times in this chapter.

"Daisuke?"

The young man jumped when he heard the door open, pushing himself off the floor and glancing towards Takeru with a small frown.

"What's up?" He asked, picking himself up and brushing his clothing off. "You look like a drown cat." He commented, glancing towards the window to see the rain pouring down. His fingers twitched towards his phone, his mind flashing to Ken and the one time he had been to the digital world, the boy's confession of the dark ocean ringing in his mind.

"Just wanted to see if you were in here. The storm killed the power." Takeru explained, glancing over his shoulder. "Sorry if I bothered you."

"It's fine," Daisuke said, taking in Takeru's features. "You really should change into some dry clothes."

Takeru grimaced, shuffling back several steps and looking down at his clothing. He pulled off his jacket, Daisuke closing his eyes briefly before opening them to see Takeru standing half naked in the doorway. The man walked across the living room, dropping his wet clothing into the bathroom with a sigh.

"Can I ask you a question?" He glanced back, resting a hand on the doorframe and watching Daisuke.

"Sure?" He asked with a frown, wishing he could avert his gaze but not wanting to seem rude.

"Do you even want to stay here?" Takeru asked.

"Eh?" Daisuke frowned, pulling his legs into a crossed position as he leaned his back against the couch, considering the question. "Why do you ask?"

"Wouldn't you be happier living with Ken?" Takeru asked.

"I'm not sure I...get your question?" Daisuke frowned, considering it for a moment. "I suppose... Well, I like living with you."

"But he's over an awful lot." Takeru responded.

"Well, yeah, he's my boyfriend." Daisuke agreed. "I know that you haven't actually met but..." Daisuke shrugged, hesitant to poke at the situation. "I've talked about moving in with him before. He's not willing to commit to the relationship and the struggles that comes to living with someone else."

"So it's not because you feel bad on my behalf?" Takeru asked.

"I don't feel bad on your behalf," Daisuke responded, watching as a look of relief spread across Takeru's face. The blond hesitated, glancing once more at him before he nodded.

"Good to know," he decided, stepping into the bathroom and locking the door. Daisuke heard the water turn on a moment later, the back of his head hitting a couch cushion as he let out a sigh. He got up, heading to his room to change clothes, checking the time once more. He scribbled a note for Takeru on the counter, leaving a plate of food over it before walking out of the apartment, tugging on his shoes at the door.

He used the directions that Ken had given him, meeting him a fancier than he had originally thought restaurant, Daisuke swallowing before stepping in and sweeping his gaze of the place. He lifted a hand as he spotted Ken, walking over to him and taking a seat.

"You look flustered," Ken commented, a waiter returning to the table with a menu for Daisuke and a drink that Ken had already ordered for him.

"Yeah?" Daisuke asked, accepting the drink with a polite thank you. He took a sip of it, relaxing as the warmth spread through him.

"Did something happen?" Ken inquired, pointing out something he thought that Daisuke might enjoy.

"I suppose," he said with a nod. "Do you ever hear that voice telling you that something you say is going to be wrong, no matter how it comes out?"

Ken considered the question before he smiled at Daisuke, "I suppose Wormmon often is that voice for me. But I was under the impression that you didn't have such a voice Daisuke." Ken raised eyebrow. "Have you finally found where you buried it so long ago? Also, I suggest that one." He tapped Daisuke’s menu with a single finger, keeping his gaze down on it.

"I think I'm falling for my roommate." Daisuke said, picking up the menu to see what Ken had pointed out. "Isn't that a bit on the....expensive side?"

"Don't worry about cost, I can cover it." Ken promised with a smile. "And what do you mean, falling for your roommate? Don't you think your partner may be a tad bit jealous?"

"Well, yeah." Daisuke said with a shake of his head. "But like...he's very well toned. For a guy who works as an editor."

"Hmmm," Ken said, Daisuke quickly glancing up to judge how Ken would take the news. "And what makes you so attracted to him?" He inquired.

"I don't know," Daisuke commented. "I'm not going to go cheating on my partner now. I would never dream of that. But…” He offered Ken a small shrug, Ken letting out a chuckle.

"It's perfectly reasonable to believe that someone could be appreciative of someone else even if they are currently in a relationship." Ken responded. "We're perfectly reasonable twenty one years to be discussing something like this."

"Are you sure that price isn't an issue?" Daisuke asked, finally turning his attention to the prices in truth. "Because, wow," he whistled, earning a hard stare from someone across the way.

"No, don't worry about it." Ken said with a shake of his head. "I got a bonus at work today. We are celebrating."

"Which reminds me, I got the position I applied for." Daisuke said, meeting Ken's gaze. "Congratulations at your bonus. Is your job doing okay?"

"As well as it can be," Ken said with a nod. "And congratulations at your own job. I'm pleased to see that you are able to achieve something when you truly apply yourself."

"Was that meant to be a complement or a barb?" Daisuke inquired.

"Both," Ken responded with an easy smile, the two men ordering when the waiter returned. Daisuke handed over his menu, placing his hands on the table.

"I do trust you not to cheat." Ken replied, Daisuke looking up and meeting his eyes. "Perhaps it would be better if we were to-"

"Nope," Daisuke said, cutting him off and staring him down. "I am not going to have you talk about terminating our relationship again Ken. I like you too much to be willing to do it."

"You know the risks." Ken said softly.

"And after two years, you have had no word on if it will even happen. As of now, nothing has happened to prove your theory. I don't think anything will continue to happen and that we can continue living in peace." Daisuke said, giving Ken a determined look.

"There are things that can hurt you." Ken responded. "If-"

"It all rests on this single if." Daisuke pointed out, leaning closer to Ken over the table. It was a small table to begin with, offering a privacy to dining couples. Daisuke could see several startled patrons around them as Ken shook his head. People still recognized Ken from his younger days as a genius, and later as being a kidnapped person. Daisuke ignored the stares, reaching out and touching Ken's hand on the table. "I'm not going to let that single if consume you for the rest of your waking days love." He murmured, voice barely above a whisper.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" Ken asked, a smile on his face though he had a pained look in his eyes. "You are too good for me."

"You tolerate my loudness far more often than most people do." Daisuke remarked, leaning back in his seat.

"But as for the other matter...I think it's something to consider." Ken admitted.

"Consider?" Daisuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"How well do you truly think you're falling for your roommate? Should I dash in and defend you until my dying breath?" Ken jokes.

"I mean, he's handsome and all...." Daisuke grinned. "Blond, tan despite working a desk job. He still keeps up with his basketball playing, though it's more for fun. Not sure what else he does to stay in shape. Beautiful hair,"

"Are you calling me plain?" Ken asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not at all." Daisuke said with a shake of his head. "I think that you are absolutely amazing."

"So I have to fear for a younger man after all." Ken gave a small but dramatic sigh, though Daisuke could see the smile tugging at his lips and felt comfortable in knowing that he was joking.

"Of course not dear," Daisuke promised.

"In all seriousness, if it's something you are interested in, I wouldn't say no." Ken responded, glancing up when their food arrived. Daisuke stared at him, cocking an eyebrow and trying to decide if he had heard right.

"You'd be...I'm sorry?" He asked, blinking at him once more.

"I'd be okay with you dating another person." Ken responded.

"But-" Daisuke began, Ken shaking his head.

"This is not out of some misplaced idea that you would be better of with someone else Daisuke." He promised. "This is me saying that I often think that people try to restrict themselves in ways that they necessarily should not."

"Oh," he said, giving him a slow blink. Daisuke tilted his head, studying Ken thoughtfully. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes, I am." Ken responded. "I would not tell you otherwise if I thought it were a bad idea." He promised. "I am not jealous of your affections towards someone else either."

"I...." He let out a slow breath. "Okay," he said with a nod. "Okay," he added with a grin, watching as Ken returned the smile.

"Is that matter settled then?" Ken asked, gesturing towards the food that had arrived while they were speaking.

"We'll have to talk about it some more, later." Daisuke said quickly catching Ken's eye.

"In a more private setting?" Ken guessed, relaxing when Daisuke nodded.

"I just want to clear some things up is all." He promised. Ken gave him a quick nod, the two of them falling silent as they began to eat, enjoying the food and each other's company.

*****

"Hey Takeru!"

Daisuke waved as the blond jumped, glancing over from his bedroom door that he had open a crack. Daisuke leaned out of his own, grinning.

"What do you want for dinner tonight?" He asked.

"Don't you ever get tired of cooking?" Takeru asked, shutting the door fully and turning to Daisuke. "It's all you do at your job and yet..."

"I happen to enjoy cooking." Daisuke said with a roll of his eyes. He studied the worried expression on Takeru's face, the way the blond tightened his grip on a small notepad. "Something the matter?" He asked.

Takeru released the grip on his notepad, setting the object on the hall table next to him. He took a moment longer before finally answering the question. "I haven't been sleeping well lately." He admitted.

"That's never fun." Daisuke observed. "What's on your mind?" He asked.

"I don't suppose I actually know." Takeru admitted, his gaze darting up to Daisuke's face.

"Okay...well, if you want to talk about it, I'll be willing to listen." Daisuke promised with a wide grin. "Just let me know, okay?"

"Okay," Takeru said with a nod, his gaze darting to Daisuke. "What are you doing Friday night?"

"I think that's movie night with Ken." Daisuke responded, leaning against his doorframe and studying, really studying, Takeru for a long moment. "Honestly, you sure there isn't anything I can do to help you?"

"No, I don't think so." Takeru said with a quick shake of his head. "I'm going to be out late this Friday. I'm actually leaving for a couple days, will be home late Sunday night."

"Oh, okay." Daisuke said with a nod. "You going to have dinner before you go or...?"

"No thank you." Takeru responded, turning and heading back into his room. Daisuke frowned, retreating into his own room with a worried glance over his shoulder. He pulled out his phone, looking at his schedule for the week to confirm that he wouldn't be working Friday night or Thursday. He selected Ken's number, holding his breath and sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Hello Daisuke, it's a pleasure. What's the special occasion?" Ken asked, Daisuke grinning as he heard his boyfriend's voice.

"I was thinking for Friday, we could have a movie marathon. Pop some popcorn, order some take out. Snuggle on the couch..." He suggested.

"Would we be bothering your roommate?" Ken asked, Daisuke shaking his head before remembering he was on the phone.

"Nope," he responded. "He's out for a couple days. I have Friday off, you could even come over Thursday night and we could spend all day together."

"That...sounds lovely." Ken admitted.

"Have you made any progress?" Daisuke asked, flopping onto his back and staring at his ceiling.

"Three years and nothing." Ken admitted, Daisuke hearing the keys on a board seeming to clatter away as Ken multitasked. "Even after getting the rest of the data from the base-"

"You went there by yourself?" Daisuke demanded, cutting him off. He shuddered at the thought of having to go back again, but would have rathered Ken didn’t go by himself.

"It was unintentional." Ken responded, his voice seeming to shift. "I had gone to the digital world with Wormmon and my feet took me to the base. And, upon getting there, I realized that there were files that I hadn't retrieved the first time. So, I sent them to my computer."

"Did you see anything strange?" Daisuke asked, biting his lip in worry. "You promised you wouldn't have to go back..."

"I know, I'm sorry to have had to break that promise. I didn't mean to." Ken responded, his fingers falling silent on the keyboard. "But, it seems to have been a fruitless trip anyway. There is nothing new that I have found, even with the new files."

"What have you found?" Daisuke asked.

"Information on the rings that were crafted, the towers, and even something about creating a chimera digimon that never seemed to have been completed. There are notes and comments regarding digimon evolution as well, though I have barely begun to make head or tails on them." Ken responded.

"When did you go?" Daisuke closed his eyes, hoping that Ken would be alright.

"Earlier today," Ken explained. "While I was there, I saw...I saw some of the others, though I didn't let them see me. I think it's wise to let them believe that I have completely vanished."

"I agree there. There's no telling what they would do to you if they found out." Daisuke paused, considering his next words. "Are you safe?"

"As safe as I can be." Ken said with a small, tired laugh. "I feel better than I did three years ago. Knowing that I can talk to you about this, it helps a lot with rationalizing that this is a good idea."

"Are you sure it actually is?" Daisuke asked.

"Hmmm?" Ken responded, Daisuke shaking his head.

"What if you poking around about this causes something to happen?" Daisuke pressed, the fear of the idea quickly overwhelming him.

"I would...I would rather know than not understand what is going on with me." Ken said quietly. "There's a...possibility that doing this will activate it, but I don't know."

"We're playing that game a lot." Daisuke said, voice almost flat. He sat up from his bed, a grin returning to his features. "Not that it matters! Thursday night, you'll come over and we'll spend all of Friday together, doing whatever you want! And watching movies, there has to be movie watching involved."

"Thank you," Ken said softly.

"For what?" Daisuke asked in confusion.

"For distracting me and helping me with this." Ken responded. "It's helped much more than you could ever imagine."

"Then I am glad that I could be of service." Daisuke responded, listening to Ken's laugh. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ken said softly.

"No matter what," Daisuke added. "I will always love you."

"Thank you, and good night." Ken murmured, ending the call before Daisuke could say anything. He rolled his eyes, tossing his phone on the mattress next to him.

"Always have to have the last word, don't you Ichijouji?" He asked, stretching out and relaxing on the bed, looking forward to his weekend plans.

*****

Ken shifted, his head laying in Daisuke's lap as his gaze followed the figures on the tv. He closed his eyes briefly as Daisuke ran his fingers through his hair, making a noise of contentment in the back of his throat.

"We should go to bed," Daisuke murmured, glancing at the time displayed. "It's after midnight."

"Can't I just enjoy this moment with you?" Ken asked, moving forward and taking Daisuke's hand in his own. "It's a peaceful evening, Wormmon actually likes you. Your roommate isn't home..."

"Yes, of course." Daisuke said with a nod. He let his other hand still, pieces of hair still threaded through his fingers. He bent down, kissing Ken lightly. "But I could think of better things to do with our time."

"Oh?" Ken asked, meeting his gaze.

"This couch is well broken in." Daisuke said with a grin.

"I still can't believe your parents let you take it." Ken said, a note of disbelief plain.

"Takeru and I needed something for the living room. They were getting a new couch anyway." Daisuke said with a shrug, adjusting himself so he wasn't half bent over Ken. "Besides, you can say this couch has character."

"Maybe you should get a new one." Ken suggested. "Before your ever so adoring roommate finds out just what we've done to this couch."

"I think we added character to this couch in a way that you wouldn't get." Daisuke responded, shifting his position. He felt Ken sit up enough so that Daisuke could get up, the man moving to straddle Ken. The space was small, though they had long since perfected the art of moving about it.

"We've fucked on it," Ken said flatly.

"So?" Daisuke shrugged, leaning down and kissing him lightly, his kisses trailing down from Ken's mouth to his jaw, then from his jaw to his neck. Daisuke nuzzled his neck for just a moment before Ken finally responded.

"Isn't that a bit...rude?" He asked, blinking as Daisuke kissed his neck once more.

"Rude for who, the couch?" He murmured.

"Your roommate." Ken responded. "Who you also have a major crush on."

"I suppose?" Daisuke frowned, sitting up and considering the thought. "Didn't think of that before I guess. But, neither of us have the money to get a new couch. Or, we didn’t at the time and we hadn’t talked about it since."

"Ah," Ken frowned, considering the options before him. "Well, I suppose than I shall just have to concede on the matter of the couch." He decided.

"Does that mean I can go back to kissing you?" Daisuke asked.

"I suppose, but I do have a question for you." Ken said, smirking as Daisuke sat back with a small, frustrated, whine.

"What now?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Like a child," Ken sighed. "You have no patience, even after all this time. You would have been such a brat to handle in school I suppose. In a way, you never really did grow up, did you?"

"Ken?" Daisuke asked with a frown, his eyebrows seeming to furrow together. "You're...hey, are you okay?" He asked, watching the slow smirk unfurl on his face.

"Of course I'm alright," he responded, lifting a hand up and touching Daisuke's chin, bringing it down as he lifted himself up, balancing on his free elbow and kissed him. "I-"

"No," Daisuke said, suddenly jolting off the couch and shaking his head. "Ken, hey, Ken-"

"What?" Ken frowned, sitting up fully and dropping his hand. "Did...something happen?" He asked.

"You...were acting strange," Daisuke said finally, dropping down next to him. "Real strange and it freaked me out."

"Strange how?" Ken asked, pressing a hand to his face. "Daisuke?" He asked, worry creeping into his tone as he looked up.

Daisuke gazed at him in worry, shaking his head slowly. He leaned forward, taking Ken's hands in his own. He repeated the gist of what had happened, Ken's frown deepening.

"I... We were talking about furniture, then you were saying my na-" He pressed his hands to hide his face, shoulders shaking. "It can't be..."

"Let's get you home, you can look at your data logs or whatever they're called." Daisuke suggested.

It was several minutes before Ken finally spoke again, hesitation plain in his tone. "I've been having momentary blackouts for the past couple of weeks. Wormmon reported it to me. I was hoping it was just...I was just getting sick but-" He shook his head, meeting Daisuke's gaze.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Daisuke asked, voice gentle.

"I didn't think much of it." Ken whispered. "I put it down to getting sick. That happened in school, once, our final year, remember?"

"I do," Daisuke nodded in agreement. They had been dating for several years by that time when Ken had gotten sick and started having random blackouts. Daisuke had been the one to find him collapsed with a high enough fever to send him to the hospital. He moved forward, pressing the back of his hand to Ken's forehead. "You don't feel hot."

"I don't think it's that." Ken said dully, meeting Daisuke's gaze.

"I-" Daisuke swallowed, shaking his head. "We don't have proof. That's not going to happen to you Ken, not again." He promised, falling to his knees in front of his boyfriend and clasping both of Ken's hands between his own. "I promise you that I will be with you, no matter what happens. I will try and save you Ken."

"And...if it doesn't work?" Ken whispered.

"Then...I'll-I'll-" Daisuke choked on the words, hearing the haunting comment of Ken asking him to simply kill him like it was a general question to ask anyone. "I'll kill you. If that is truly what you want." He whispered.

"It will put an end to whatever evil that wants me to do those things that happened before." Ken said, pain evident in his voice.

"We don't know that!" Daisuke snapped.

"If it can't feed off of me, it can't-" Ken broke off, shaking his head and freeing one hand to press it to his eyes, holding back tears. "It can't be freed if I die Daisuke. We've discussed this,"

Daisuke looked up at Ken, sitting on the couch in distress. He looked down, swallowing hard. "I know we have." He murmured. It had been in the quiet hours, when neither of them had been able to sleep. It had been discussed back and forth over meals, jokingly, quietly, in yelling conversations when Ken got in the mood to try and drive Daisuke away. But through it all, Daisuke had never seen Ken cry, or try not to cry, like he was doing now.

"I will be whatever you need me to be." He promised, clearing his throat. "I will do whatever it is that you need me to do, for you and only you Ken. I will do whatever it takes. I love you, please don't-" he whispered, realizing he, too, was crying.

"Thank you," Ken sobbed, pulling himself completely free and wrapping his arms around Daisuke, pulling him into a hug. "You mean so much more than I could ever-" he let himself weep freely, Daisuke moving to hold him close and ignoring his body beginning to protest at the position.

*****

"Are you really that upset by it?" Ken tipped his head back as he leaned against the counter, watching as Daisuke began to prep the ingredients needed for that night's meal.

Daisuke frowned, turning to look at Ken as he tried to recall what they had been talking about before the silence had settled around them like a heavy blanket. He opened his mouth, Ken letting out a sigh.

"Sharing an apartment with Takeru." He offered.

"I don't know, you'd think after nearly eight or so years of dating, we'd...ya know." He shrugged, shaking his head.

"Move in together?" Ken asked with a raised eyebrow. "You know-"

"I know." Daisuke said, voice turning almost sour as he turned to look at Ken, leveling a dark gaze at him. "I'm tired of keeping secrets. I know you're here a lot, but sometimes I feel like you aren't actually here, you know?"

"No," Ken said with a slow shake of his head.

"Fine, we'll just, not talk about it anymore." Daisuke said quietly, setting down his knife and turning to Ken. "I feel like I'm losing you, more and more often."

"I know," he said darkly. "I just don't know what else I'm supposed to do."

"Tell me when it happens?" Daisuke asked. He took Ken's hands in his own, meeting Ken's gaze.

"I...can," he said softly. It was nearly a month after Daisuke had unofficially met the thing residing in Ken. he set felt queasy ever since that day. And neither me nor Ken knew how to approach the subject without both of them starting to talk like fools.

"He's going to try and do something,"

Daisuke looked up, startled by the statement. He set his hands on the counter, turning to face Ken once more. "Then we stop it." He said simply.

"I don't know if we can," Ken responded. "The...there were others. They fought against him, made him lose ground. He was unhappy about it. If he tries anything, they're still here."

"Takeru and the rest," Daisuke said.

"Yes," Ken murmured, dragging his gaze to Daisuke's face. "It feels unfair of me to ask you to keep this when your roommate is one of the ones that were there."

"Anything that keeps you safe, I will do." Daisuke promised softly.

"I love you," Ken said.

"And I love you. Now, are you ready for some amazing food?" Daisuke asked with a grin, wanting to draw the conversation away from anything else unpleasant. Ken nodded in agreement, moving to grab plates and set the table as Daisuke began to throw food on the stove to cook, taking pleasure in the art.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As showcased here, you can see that the kaiser had been coming around longer than just a short handful of days in Roommates. It had been the build up of...years?... probably.
> 
> First Scene: 19  
> Second Scene: 19  
> Third Scene: 21  
> Fourth Scene: 21  
> Fifth Scene: 22  
> Sixth Scene: 23  
> Seventh Scene: 23
> 
> That's the ages of the first couple of scenes!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "official" start of Roommates!
> 
> Longer chapters abound! All dialogue that was taken from Roommates has remained the same.

"Daisuke shouldn't we-"

Ken's protest gets lost as Daisuke kisses him deeper, the man's hands pinned to the couch cushion behind him. He grinds against Ken, his mouth dropping lower to his neck and kissing him lightly, listening to the soft moan that comes out of Ken with a grin.

He almost twitches when he hears the door open, hearing a muffled "aurgh" sound before the door closes again.

"Daisuke," Ken hisses, Daisuke tipping his head back and looking at him with an arched eyebrow. He heard the microwave door open, sliding back ever so slightly. "Think it would be better if we moved this to the bedroom?" He whispered.

Daisuke sighed, opening his mouth as Ken moved, picking up his phone from the side of the couch where it had fallen earlier.

"Or actually, is it that late already? I have to go, I'm sorry Daisuke." Ken said, Daisuke shifting up on the couch. 

"No, it's fine." He promises, glancing over in time to see Takeru looking his way, as he leaned forward, kissing Ken once more. He jumped when he heard the counter bang against the counter, clearing his throat in embarrassment.

"Right, shall I walk you to your car?" Daisuke offered, Ken smiling and nodding in agreement. From the corner of his eye, he could see Takeru slumping his shoulders, his head tilted down. Ken takes a moment to fix his hair and clothing before the pair head out the door, Daisuke reaching forward and taking his hand.

"You're in a fine mood," Ken observed.

"It's not every night I get to spend with just you." Daisuke said happily.

"I'm sorry," Ken voice was soft, the faintest traces of strain making Daisuke hesitate.

"No, I'd rather deal with him if it means he's not out causing trouble for anyone else." Daisuke said with a quick shake of his head. "How has Wormmon been holding up?"

"He's unhappy with the turn of events. It's getting worse Daisuke." Ken said, pausing at the top of the stairs. They were three stories up, though Ken was perfectly happy taking the stairs if it meant being with Daisuke just a bit longer.

"I know," Daisuke said quietly. "It's been getting worse over the last year, right?"

"That's correct." Ken said with a sharp nod. They began the walk down, Ken resting his free hand on the stair railing as he considered the options. "If we-" he began.

"There's still a chance that we can beat it." Daisuke responded firmly. "I will not until there is no chance at saving you Ken."

"Daisuke...." Ken sighed. "Maybe we're just delaying the end results?"

"No," Daisuke said, pulling Ken close to him on the second landing and kissing him again. "I am not going to lose you because we think it would be better. I love you Ken." He said, swallowing hard. "I love you and I'm not going to lose you, not yet."

"You're foolish," Ken murmured, feeling Daisuke tense. He shook his head, kissing his partner softly. "He thinks it often enough, that we're both foolish."

"Do you know who it is?" Daisuke asked.

"No," Ken sighed. "I still haven't been able to figure that out. I just, I need more time..."

"We may not get it." Daisuke pointed out. "Isn't that what you've been trying to get at?"

"Of course but....perhaps I am also foolish." Ken said, tugging on Daisuke's hand. "I really should be getting home. Wormmon has been alone all day and I would hate for him to be angry with you for it."

"Of course," Daisuke nodded, following Ken down to his car. "Don't forget about my ramen testing tomorrow!" Daisuke said as Ken got in the car, rolling down the window.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He agreed, Daisuke leaning into the car with a grin. They shared one last goodbye kiss, Daisuke leaning against a post as he watched Ken drive away, before he returned up the stairs, humming to himself happily and not evening caring that it had been twenty minutes to walk Ken down.

"How was work Takeru?" Daisuke asked upon entering the apartment and walking into the kitchen.

"It could be better," Takeru said with a shrug. "I've been working on some terrible articles that needed editing for the company. They may end up rejected at this rate however."

"Read any interesting ones?" Daisuke asked, rummaging through the kitchen as Takeru set his now empty bowl in the sink, having refused to let himself move until the bowl was cleaned. He set it on the drying rack, turning to face Daisuke

"Yes, but could I please ask that you and your boyfriend keep your make-out sessions off the couch?" Takeru asked, picking up the towel from the counter to dry his hands.

"We do not make out on the couch that often. And besides, we were watching a movie." Daisuke protested, giving Takeru his best innocent look he could pull off.

"It's been three times this week." Takeru protested, shaking his head. "I don't think I've officially met him yet, and I know what he looks like when you have your tongue shoved down his throat."

"Is this the ‘my roommate wants to meet the boyfriend' thing or something?" Daisuke asked. "Surely you've had a good couple of makeout sessions on that couch yourself."

"None that devolved into us nearly trying to smother each other." Takerku pointed out. "You can do that shit in your bedroom."

"But I don't have a TV in there to watch movies with Ken." Daisuke said, giving his best pout that he could muster. Takeru let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"Why do you have to be impossible?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Ken's coming over tomorrow. I'm doing a ramen taste testing. Why don't you join us?" Daisuke offered. "And everything else can be kept to the bedroom after that."

Takeru considered the offer for a moment, slowly rubbing his temples. "I believe Hikari was supposed to come over tomorrow."

"She can join us!" Daisuke said with a grin. "I promise I'm completely over her."

"I'll ask her," Takeru said, holding up a hand before Daisuke could continue. "I can start texting you when I'm on my way home if you two just... Move the making out to the bedroom, or something. Please,"

Daisuke considered the thought for a moment, weighing the options before offering him a shrug, deciding that it wasn't worth a pissed off Takeru just for some simple making out. "I'll see what I can do." He said with a wink, his face growing serious. "But we were just watching a movie right before you got home, I promise." Which, they had been, even if the movie had ended nearly an hour before Takeru returned home.

"I'm going to bed." Takeru said, heading out of the kitchen and past the couch. Daisuke watched him move, his gaze flicking to Takeru's ass and giving himself a small grin. He picked up his phone when it dinged, please to see the text that Ken had returned home safely and Wormmon was not upset with him as Ken had feared. He turned the lights off in the kitchen and the living room, deciding to go to bed himself upon realizing it was indeed after eight pm.

*****

"So, what's the plan for this taste testing?" Ken asked, leaning against the counter and watching as Daisuke flipped through a handwritten notebook. He stopped on a page, marking it with a piece of paper before flipping to another.

"I'm going to try out three different recipes," Daisuke explained. "I haven't had the chance to make them for anyone else but me. I like them well enough, but I like almost anything that I cook."

"For your one day ramen cart?" Ken asked, Daisuke nodding absently.

"Should I be worried about him surfacing at all tonight?" Daisuke asked.

"I...don't know." Ken admitted. "If anything happens, just tell them that I'm sick and lock me in the bathroom or something."

"Very well," Daisuke nodded, selecting the three recipes and leaving his book on the counter. He took a step closer to Ken, closing the distance and kissing him gently. Ken merely seemed to sigh into the kiss, returning it and stepping to the side.

"Must we?" He asked softly.

"We have time," Daisuke shrugged.

"Is this just a ploy to upset your roommate?" Ken asked.

"No?" Daisuke responded with a frown. "Maybe I was just showing my affection of you in the way that I know you like. How's Wormmon?"

"He's upset, but okay." Ken said, taking Daisuke's hand and pulling him to the couch. On the screen was a movie that Daisuke had started, before he had gotten bored and wandered away. "There's been no unsupervised trips into the digital world for him, which is better for the both of us if I can stay here. Your help has been greatly appreciated and Wormmon seems quite pleased with you at the moment."

"I would hope to stay in his good graces," Daisuke said with a sharp nod.

"Good, because I do not want to have to listen to him being moody again." Ken said with a laugh.

"Do you know what he wants...to do?" Daisuke asked, almost hesitant to ruin the good mood.

"Take over the digital world possibly." Ken said with a shake of his head. "He's there, but I don't get a clear picture of his thoughts. It's like trying to hear someone underwater."

"Well...is this a bad time to tell you that your D-3 went missing?" Daisuke frowned.

"You _lost_ my D-3?" Ken demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I didn't lose it!" Daisuke protested. "It was there when you came over last night, then it was gone this morning." He explained.

"That sounds like you lost it to me." Ken responded dryly.

"I think he took it." Daisuke said finally. "Can you look around your apartment for it?"

"I think I would have noticed it on me yesterday.... He hid something, forced me out of my own head when I got home. Damn it-" Ken moved to stand, Daisuke quickly reaching up to tug on his hand.

"We'll find it, and I'll make sure to put it in a better place." Daisuke promised.

"If he found it before-"

Ken was cut off as Daisuke shoved him onto the couch, both men having heard a crash from Takeru's room. Ken's hands deftly went to Daisuke's pants, unbuttoning them as Daisuke mused up Ken's hair, almost instantly deciding that it was better to be dealing with a pissed off Takeru rather than either of whoever was talking in his room having heard anything they were discussing.

Daisuke winced as he heard the door open, Hikari's voice penetrating the space easily as the door was opened, closed, then opened once more.

"Daisuke! What a pleasant surprise to see you!" She called, Daisuke hearing Takeru take a hesitant step.

Daisuke jumped at the sound of Hikari's voice, scrambling to sit up on the couch as he buttoneed his pants, hearing Takeru offer a small laugh, though he had caught just a glimpse of the look of horror and fury on Takeru's face.

"H-hi Hikari, I didn't hear you come in." Daisuke said, his face red as Takeru finally closed the door behind him. He stepped next to Hikari, waving at him.

"We used the back entrance," he said, Daisuke seeming to be confused by the comment as Ken cleared his throat next to him.

"We're three stories up." Ken responded, smoothing down his hair. "What back entrance does this building have?"

"Takeru's just joking. I'm Hikari, you must be Daisuke's boyfriend," Hikari said, taking a step forward and offering him a hand.

"Ichijouji Ken," Ken replied, taking her hand and giving it a quick shake. "I wasn't aware that Takeru had a girlfriend." He said, Daisuke knowing full well that Ken knew his status in way of dating anyone.

"Nah, we're just childhood friends." Takeru said, walking into the kitchen. Daisuke heard the fridge open, resting his hand in his face for just a moment as he considered exactly what Takeru would be thinking had been taking place.

"I see," Ken said, his gaze sliding across Hikari to give her a better look. He caught the sight of color at the edge of her wrist, gesturing towards it curiously. "Do you have a tattoo?" he asked.

"Yeah," Hikari said, rolling up the sleeve to show Ken the tattoo, Daisuke turning to look as well. "It continues onto my back."

"What are the characters of?" Ken asked, Daisuke picking out the faked politeness as they both saw the digimon evolution line, Daisuke having been shown a similar one by Ken himself three weeks prior.

"YukimiBotamon and Nyaromon," she said, pointing out the two small digimon on her wrist. "Then Plotmon," she gestured to the more dog like digimon right below her elbow. "Tailmon," she said, pointing out Tailmon happily. "And I have Nefertimon on my back, between my shoulder blades. And my right ribcage has Angewomon. They're digimon,"

"Characters from Takeru's books, right?" Daisuke asked, finally able to speak without sounding like his voice was running off of helium from a balloon. He still felt ruffled, something telling him that the two had probably just used a digital gate to enter Takeru's room.

"I like to think that I gave him the inspiration for Tailmon and her various evolutions." Hikari said with a smile, turning to see Takeru take several left overs from the fridge and shut it with his foot.

"I didn't realize that you were roommates with an author Daisuke." Ken said, catching Daisuke's attention once more as Hikari and Takeru disappeared once more into the bedroom.

"Yeah, I haven't read anything. They're sure acting strange." Daisuke grumbled.

"And we aren't?" Ken responded, voice emotionless. Daisuke gave him a startled look, Ken shaking his head.

"Not our fault they couldn't use a door like normal people." Daisuke said hastily, his voice low enough that they wouldn't be able to pick up on their conversation. He got up, heading into the kitchen and clearing his throat. He began to cook, looking for his ingredients. He turned when Takeru and Hikari reappeared, his gaze focusing in on Takeru.

"Hey, Takeru!" He called, Ken muffling a small laugh. "Don't you have tattoos too?" He asked, waving a spoon at him from the kitchen sink.

"I do," he said. Daisuke watched Hikari peel away from Takeru, Ken having caught her attention. He could hear them discussing placement and pain regarding the tattoos, Hikari happily giving him a closer look. Daisuke was almost pleased when Takeru decided to make his way into the kitchen, though he looked uncertain as to where he should be standing.

"They’re to promote your book, right?" Daisuke asked.

"No?" Takeru said with a frown. "I mean, I guess? I never got them to promote my books. I got them to remember a friend."

"So, can I see them?" Daisuke asked, stepping into Takeru's personal space with a grin on his face, his gaze darting out of the kitchen briefly.

"No!" Takeru said, taking a step back and feeling his back hit the counter. "They are personal, if you want to go see tattoos, Hikari is doing a wonderful job modelling them off."

"Do you two have the same set of tattoos then? I can’t see you being one to have cats and angels tattooed on you." Daisuke asked and Takeru glanced over to Hikari, seeing the top of the crest of light on the back of her neck as she slipped her shirt back on.

"No, we do not." Takeru said, shoving Daisuke out of his personal space and stepping to the side. Daisuke let him, re-establishing himself as he pulled out already prepped ingredients from the fridge.

"Then yours are completely different and I'm curious as to what they are." Daisuke retorted, wishing more then anything he could have a look.

"Oh dear, are you two playing nice?" Hikari asked, leaning on the small bar of the kitchen and meeting Daisuke's gaze. He dropped back a step, offering her a smile. "If you aren't, I'm more than happy to make sure that you two play nice."

"It would be nice if he kept sloppy makeouts to not the couch," Takeru said, taking the chance to get another step back and finalize the distance between Daisuke and himself.

"I do apologize for that," Ken said, stepping up next to Hikari. "I'll make sure any makeouts do not occur on the couch anymore." He gave Takeru a smile, Takeru meeting his gaze and tentatively returning the smile.

"That's all I ask," Takeru said with a sigh.

"It's only happened twice," Daisuke protested, though he knew it had been far more than that.

"Shouldn't you be starting food?" Ken asked, the smile still on his face. Daisuke watched Takeru step out of the kitchen, picking up his spoon once more.

"I am starting the food," Daisuke said, using the spoon to gesture to the ingredients on the table. "I just got distracted. Hey, Hikari, did you know that Takeru has tattoos?" He asked, turning to look at her with the puppy dog eyes he knew worked on Ken most days.

"I am aware," she said, meeting his gaze. "We got ours down at the same place six years ago? Right after we graduated high school. It was a goal of ours."

"Are they in the same positioning as Hikari's?" Daisuke asked, definitely interested in hearing about them.

"More or less," Takeru said, fidgeting as Daisuke focused on the food. "Different characters, but same positioning. Can you make sure there is enough of each ramen for six people? We have two additional taste testers." He told Daisuke, hedging a bet to get off the topic of tattoos.

"Did you invite more people?" Daisuke asked with a frown, quickly calculating what he had on hand and if the three ramens would spread to six people, rather than just four.

"I want leftovers if any of it is good." Hikari said quickly, taking Takeru's hand and smiling. "If you're any good, we were thinking of hiring you to cater a party of Takeru's that he's throwing."

"What sort of party?" Daisuke asked. "And how much are we talking about money wise?"

"The only way you get the gig is if our partners like the food. As for money, we’re not sure yet." Hikari said with a smile, Takeru seeming content with Hikari taking the lead on this one.

"Partners...?" Daisuke said with a frown, tipping his head to the side. His thoughts quickly jumped to the digimon, his gaze flicking to Ken. Ken offered him the smallest shake of his head, unsure of where to go with the conversation.

"Sure," Takeru responded, offering him a casual shrug.

"Do you want to meet them?" Hikari inquired.

"Partners...like romantic partners?" Daisuke frowned, his mind jumping through the hoops of how many digimon the other chosen had and how much they would actually eat. Having met Wormmon, he knew they could eat a lot but...for the time being, acting unwise to their presence was the best path to go.

"No," Takeru said, shaking his head. "They're our digimon partners. Would you like to meet ours?"

"You're getting back at me for making out on the couch again, aren't you?" Daisuke asked, his frown seeming to grow deeper when Takeru and both Hikari said no at the same time.

"That's not something I would lie about." Takeru said, making a face. "You start cooking, I'll be right back."

Daisuke shook his head when he saw Takeru walk away, turning his attention back to the food. "So, you know what he's talking about, right Hikari?"

"Of course I do Daisuke," Hikari said, blinking at him. "Why wouldn't I know what he was talking about?"

"Digimon are a thing then?" Ken asked, his attention seeming to focus on the conversation once more. He had been silent, leaning against one of the walls by the kitchen as he watched the exchange. He shared a brief glance with Daisuke, the man restraining an eyeroll as he turned to his cooking.

"Of course," Hikari said with a nod. "Takeru wrote down the adventures we had when we were kids. I'm pretty sure he was trying to get them published, last I heard. Part of the reason he started editing for the publishing company."

"You said we had to be quiet!"

Daisuke glanced towards Takeru's room as the door opened and the digimon spoke, Takeru carrying an unimpressed looking Tailmon, as Daisuke could see looked quite like her tattoo representation, and an unknown digimon sitting atop Takeru's head, the image giving Daisuke the lasting impression that, even if he didn't wear hats, Takeru would have a permanent hat in the form of the digimon. He heard Ken murmur something quickly under his breath, the two sharing a quick glance before Ken looked away.

Tailmon hopped down, talking over to Hikari grumpily. "I was having such a nice catnap too." She said, tail lashing as Ken and Daisuke glanced at each other then at the two digimon.

"Now I'm saying you don't have to be quite as quiet." Takeru said, reaching up and poking the digimon on his head. "I want you to meet my roommate so you can be in the human world with me more often. You said yourself you were getting bored in the digital world."

"I suppose," the digimon pouted, gaze sweeping the two men he did not know before he fluttered over to Hikari, sitting on her head instead.

"They talk," Daisuke said, forgetting about the food once more. He hesitated, glancing between the two and deciding just reenacting the conversation he had with Ken regarding Wormmon was the safest route to go. "They're actually real."

"They are," Hikari said, picking up Tailmon and holding her in her arms.

"You were the children that dealt with it, back in the late nineties." Ken's voice was soft as he spoke, Daisuke worried he might do something to reveal himself and the role he had once played. "I remember there being a few news reports regarding it, but no one ever knew what to do with it, so they let it slide. Forgot about it,"

"There are eight of us, and we were together for what happened back then." Hikari explained. "And maybe a couple more. A chosen child or teenager, sometimes even an adult, will pop up every once in a while. We do a get together of us original eight once a year. Each year, we switch off on who provides food."

"If you make good ramen, I would be willing to pay you to cater the party." Takeru explained. "You and Ken would both be welcome as well, to meet the other chosen children."

"All I have to do is make decent ramen?" Daisuke asked, glancing between Takeru and Hikari.

"Yes," Takeru said with a nod.

"Is that why you two always disappeared after school? You were going to the digital world?" He asked, a grin on his face. It would be nice if he could just confirm...

"Correct," Hikari replied.

"Let's get cooking then," Daisuke said, turning to the stove. He heard Takeru let out a slow sigh of relief while he was proud of himself for having bluffed his long time roommate.

It was nearly an hour later before Daisuke called that the food was ready, Hikari sitting at the table with Tailmon on her lap. Daisuke saw Takeru out of the corner of his eye, hearing him let out a low whistle. He grinned as he turned to the table, nodding at them.

“It smells delicious,” Patamon said, Takeru moving to catch him before he jumped onto the table to try and get something.

"These are a couple of tests that I'm working out for my ramen cart." Daisuke explained as Takeru took a seat next to Hikari. Daisuke caught her smile, turning his attention to the food with no small amount of pride in his work. "Let me know what you think." He added, standing in front of his seat.

"They smell delicious," Ken said, taking his seat next to Daisuke and smiling at him. His gaze darted to the digimon and their partners, lingering there more than once more before he returned his attention to the table in front of him.

"Thanks," Daisuke said, dishing up the three different types into three bowls for each person. Daisuke watched them as they all seemed to smell the food, belating chiding himself mentally for not getting bowls for the digimon as well. He turned to do so, seeing Hikari move several of the offered bowls onto the floor for them as well. He pulled down the extra settings, filling them and passing them over to her and Takeru.

“They do have a delicious smell about them.” Tailmon said with a flick of her tail, picking up the first bowl and proceeding to drink it. Patamon stuck his face into the bowl, leaning back when he finished.

“It’s better than some of Takeru’s cooking!” The digimon proclaimed, Daisuke laughing softly.

“Rude,” Takeru sighed, shaking his head.

"You're pretty good at this," Hikari said, glancing up from her own bowls. "I think you'll do well for a ramen cart."

"I've been thinking about going to America to do it." Daisuke explained, his gaze darting around the room.

"Oh, America?" Takeru asked, Daisuke frowned when he saw him clutch the spoon a bit tighter, Tailmon discussing the different flavors with a wide eyed Patamon in the background.

"Yeah," Daisuke said with a nod. "I think it would be a good start."

"Hmm?" Ken's gaze darted to Daisuke, the man raising an eyebrow. "That's news to me." He mused.

"I know, I haven't done much research on it but..." Daisuke shrugged, shaking his head. "It's just an idea to think about, really."

"It would be a lot to move to America and start a business. I would caution that you do further research before deciding on that course of action. There is no telling how it would take there either." Ken pointed out, Daisuke nodding with a sigh, agreeing easily with Ken.

The rest of the dinner passed silently, Takeru and Ken both offering to dishes. They glanced at each other, Daisuke letting out a smile.

"You two can have at it." Daisuke said, getting up and stretching. "I'm going to add these three recipes to my book officially."

"I should be heading home. Good night Takeru." Hikari said, walking over and kissing his cheek as he pulled her into a hug. Tailmon got up from where she had been napping with Patamon, following her partner to the door, Hikari picking her up and debating just briefly using the gates before deciding the train ride would be good.

“Stay safe, let me know when you’re home.” Takeru said as he walked Hikari and her partner to her car. While he was gone, Ken let out a sigh, rubbing his temples.

"I thought for sure one of the digimon would recognize me." He admitted softly.

"I thought Takeru would call my bluff. Normally he's pretty good at noticing that I'm lying." Daisuke said with a small groan. "But I think we did pretty well." He watched Ken gather the dishes, leaning against the counter to enjoy the sight. He glanced towards Takeru when he walked into the apartment, the man taking off his shoes and stepping into the kitchen.

"Are you and Hikari dating?" Ken asked, glancing over his shoulder. Daisuke raised an eyebrow at the back of his boyfriend’s head, shaking his own in silent amusement.

"No," Takeru said with a quick shake of his head, Patamon lifting his head as he listened to the change in topic. "We dated briefly in high school, but it didn't work out very well. We're just really good friends. Besides, she has a long term girlfriend. Daisuke, do you remember Miyako from school?"

"No way, they're dating?" Daisuke asked, his eyes going wide. "I didn't think... I mean, I thought..I was just wondering...You never seem to bring anyone home and you two are close. I didn't think..."

"No, we dated in school, but both decided it wouldn't work." Takeru said with a small laugh as he began to wash the dishes that Ken had rinsed and stacked, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

"So, are you seeing a girl or anything?" Daisuke grimaced at his own stupidity, wishing he could excuse himself.

Takeru let out a sigh, scrubbing at a spoon under the soapy water before setting it on the towel for Ken to dry. He considered the question, shaking his head. "It seems to me that, when I do end up liking someone, they end up already seeing other people." He explained, gesturing with one of his hands as he spoke. Daisuke's gaze flicked to his arm, raising an eyebrow.

“May we see your tattoos?" Ken inquired softly, letting his gaze slide to the two that were visible. Takeru hummed in agreement, not paying attention to what Ken said as Daisuke raised both his eyebrows.

"We've been living together since we were nineteen. I've never seen any tattoos." He said, stepping forward to try and get a better view. "Those look amazing. You said it was the same tattoo artist as Hikari, right?"

"Thanks, the artist that did them were very talented." Takeru said softly. "You know the fashion designer, Takenouchi Sora? She also does tattooing on the side. She did both mine and Hikari's, along with several of our friends before she got heavily into fashion designing."

"That's really cool." Daisuke commented, taking a step back and letting him have his personal space. "So, is there anyone you do like?"

"Hmm?" Takeru frowned, his gaze darting to Daisuke as he went back to scrubbing dishes.

"You said that, when you do end up liking someone, they're already in a relationship. You must have a crush on somebody, right?" Daisuke asked, hoping it was idle enough for a filler conversation, his mind darting to one of the talks he had with Ken several months ago.

"I believe the question that Daisuke is trying to ask," Ken said, breaking his silence, "is whether you have an interest in male or females."

"Both," Takeru responded. "And to the question you did ask, the...person that I have an interest in is currently in a relationship, so it's a no-go."

"Man, that's always the worst feeling in the world." Daisuke said in agreement.

"As far as I'm aware Daisuke dear, you've only been in one relationship." Ken commented as he dried the now clean dishes and set them to the side. Daisuke moved to help, beginning to put the assorted dishes away.

"I mean, there were a couple of high school love interests that never went anywhere." Daisuke responded, sticking his tongue out at Ken.

Takeru finished scrubbing the last bowl, setting it to the side and draining the sink. "Really, I've accepted it."

"So, who's the lucky person? I'm sure that anyone would want such a great catch as you." Daisuke asked, waiting for Ken to finish drying the last few dishes before taking them and putting them away.

"Is it really any of our business?" Ken asked softly.

"Not really," Takeru agreed with Ken. "Besides, like I said, it doesn't matter. They're in a happy relationship. I'm going to bed, good night. By the way, the meeting that we want you to cater is next week Friday, August first. Will you be able to do that?" He stopped, Patamon getting up from his spot on one of the chairs and following Takeru to his bedroom, pausing where his partner did.

"Yeah, I can do that. Thanks for the invite. Night," Daisuke said, watching Takeru walk away while rolling down his sleeves.

“Good night,” Ken added before the door was shut behind the pair.

"That went pretty well," Daisuke decided, finishing his task in putting away the dishes.

"I should head home, there's still the matter of the missing device... I'll ask W-..." He hesitated, his gaze darting to Takeru's door.

"I understand," Daisuke said with a nod. "Would you like me to walk you to your car?"

"Always," Ken said with a nod, taking Daisuke's hand and letting himself be guided away, a small warmth of happiness blossoming in his chest as the reality of the night settled down on him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Is all of this food really necessary?" Ken asked, surveying the several large pots Daisuke had cooking.

"Eight adults and eight digimon," Daisuke said, looking at the food thoughtfully. "Er, twelve people and eight digimon? Yeah, I think that's what Takeru said. Each run will feed about twelve people, so with the digimon..." He shrugged, turning on Ken with a raised eyebrow. "Are you saying that I overprepared?"

"No, not at all." Ken said with a shake of his head. "Just don't come crying to me when you have leftover ramen for weeks after this."

"It's going to be a huge hit and you know it." Daisuke said, a grin spreading across his face.

"Yes yes," Ken said with a shake of his head. They both glanced up when they saw Takeru, the man checking his pockets.

"Do you remember how to get to the park?" Takeru asked, his gaze flicking from Daisuke to Ken before resting on Daisuke.

"Yep!" Daisuke said with a nod.

"And you'll be there soon?" Takeru asked.

"Yes," He said with almost an exasperated sigh. He waved as Takeru and Patamon finally headed out the door, Ken watching them leave. They waited for five minutes before Ken shook his head.

"Strange, to see how well they're doing even after all this time." He commented, his arms seeming to wrap tighter around his waist.

"Does it bother you?" Daisuke asked, turning his attention to Ken.

"I...don't know." Ken admitted. "What I've done in the past is unacceptable. I could never be apart of what they have Daisuke." His voice was firm, but soft. Daisuke almost seemed to flinch at the words, shaking his head.

"You didn't do those things." Daisuke commented.

"They knew my face, the name that I go by. They knew who I was, they just hadn't been able to confirm it. It was too careful at playing a rat. It wanted to make sure they could always just barely doubt themselves-" He began, Daisuke stepping forward and taking his hands.

"What pulled you out?" He asked, feeling his jaw clench. "What made it so you came back?"

"I don't know," Ken said like he had so many times before when Daisuke had asked him out of idle curiosity. "I wish I had an answer. It was like a switch had been flipped. I was suddenly myself again. I wasn't imprisoned in my own head. I could be free and so much time had passed. I had changed..."

"Then we met," Daisuke said, recalling the quiet thirteen, nearly fourteen year old boy that Ken had been. Withdrawn, they had met in the hospital, Daisuke there for something he had broken. Ken there because of the memory issues. He brought Ken's hands up to his lips, kissing his hands softly.

"Yes, we did." Ken agreed, his gaze tracking Daisuke's every movement. "It's been nearly a week," he commented.

"Since you had your last blackout?" Daisuke guessed. He relaxed when Ken nodded, letting his hands drop. "That's progress then!" He said happily.

"I'm worried." Ken admitted.

"You worry, I'll be happy enough for the both of us." Daisuke replied with a rueful grin. "Let's get these ready to go and head out to the park, okay?"

"Sounds great," Ken said, forcing himself to smile as he helped Daisuke with the transferring of ramen into the containers, Daisuke carrying two down to his car while Ken held the third. They got them securely in the back seat, Ken double checking they had everything needed to feed the chosen before Daisuke left.

It was a quiet ride to the park, Daisuke singing along softly to the radio as Ken stared out the window, watching the buildings flash past.

"Do you know why they chose this park?" Ken asked as he pulled into a parking spot, the two men carrying the ramen containers, Ken having also grabbed the bags with everything else so they wouldn't have to make an extra trip.

"I'm sure there's some reason, but I don't have the faintest idea!" Daisuke said brightly.

"Of course you don't," Ken said with an amused laugh, the two finding the table that Takeru had set up. Daisuke set the vats of Ramen down, Ken setting the other things down as well. The two let their gaze sweep the area, Daisuke frowning.

"See Takeru?" He asked, spotting Takeru's older brother, Yamato. He recalled meeting him when they had helped him move several weeks ago. He saw Hikari with two older women, who he recognized as model and fashion designer respectively. His grin grew wider as he saw the digimon, Ken letting out a faint laugh.

"It's like you've never interacted with them before." He teased.

"Course not," Daisuke said with a shrug. "Hey, it's Inoue and Hida from school." He added, spotting the two that were chatting with someone else.

"A kid in a candy store." Ken decided, Daisuke glancing at him.

"It's just exciting is all." Daisuke said with a slight shrug, Ken offering him a playful eyeroll. They both turned when Taichi cleared his throat, calling out,

"Is everyone here?"

The others moved around him, Daisuke counting seven digimon and eleven adults in total, including himself.

"It doesn't seem like it, but Takeru has heard this speech before, so that's okay." He cleared his throat, HIkari raising her hand.

"If Takeru has heard your speech before, that means we've all heard it." She pointed out, grinning at her brother.

"Can't you skip the speech for once?" Yamato asked, glancing up from his spot under the tree.

"The speech is an integral-" Taichi began.

"Integral! We don't need to hear it again." Koushiro interrupts. "It's nearly a three hour long speech. Why don't we just skip to the part where we enjoy the food while it's still hot?"

"Yeah, the speech is boring," Mimi agreed.

"I think the speech could use some trimming down, especially if it means getting hot food." Jou agreed, Gomamon nodding along next to him.

"Fine, no speech." Taichi sighed, glancing at his sister with a sigh. "Y'all win, no more speeches. But I did bring drinks in the cooler. Please make sure to drink responsibly and have fun."

Daisuke tipped his head as Hikari laughed, Taichi seeming to throw himself back onto the ground next to the tree. Agumon patted his shoulder, Daisuke looking away and beginning to serve ramen with a smile as Hikari joined him. The two men worked with a relaxed ease, Ken chatting with Iori and Miyako when they came over, Daisuke leaning against the table.

"Ichijouji Ken," Miyako said, her gaze flicking between Daisuke and Ken. "What have you been up to these days?"

"Oh, a little bit of this and that." Ken said with a shrug, Iori seeming to frown. "Keeping a low profile, it's quite nice to no longer have to keep up a facade to the world, you know?"

"That's what you call it?" Iori said, voice steady. Ken looked at him, tipping his head to the side and frowning ever so slightly.

"Of course," he said with a shrug, shaking the idea off. "I don't suppose you would call it anything else?"

"Hey now, no need to fight." Daisuke said, turning to the pair. "I heard you were dating Hikari, that true Miyako?" He asked, an easy smile spreading across his face.

"For a couple years now!" Miyako said with a grin. "We moved in together last year. It's been nice, pleasantly domestic."

"Pleasant and domestic are two words I would never have thought you would say together." Daisuke responded. "You were a quick whip when we were in school."

"I still am." She said, her face seeming to go blank. "Just because I find a slower moment pleasant doesn't mean I don't still enjoy other things."

"So, what have you been doing?" Daisuke asked, his gaze flicking from Miyako to Iori.

"I'm still working at my parents' store." Miyako admitted in defeat.

"I'm in school," Iori offered. "Just recently picked up an internship for my last semester before I graduate."

"That sounds like a lovely time." Ken responded, Daisuke glancing over to where Hikari and Taichi were talking. Iori excused himself, walking over and introducing himself to Jou before asking something.

"Strange kid," Daisuke decided.

"Not everyone can wear their heart on their sleeve like you dear." Ken responded, Miyako glancing between the two and offering them a shrug. The trio fell into silence, Miyako accepting a bowl from Ken and wandering away to eat. Ken took a bowl of his own, Daisuke shifting his position and leaning back on his leg.

"Think something went wrong?" He asked, watching as Jou turned to talk with Taichi and Hikari, his position turning to look at Yamato fully. The blond haired man seemed to protest something, but finally agreed to whatever they had been saying, his partner nodding in agreement.

"More than likely," Ken agreed. "I never thought I'd see them again."

"It's amazing to realize how little they recognize you." Daisuke agreed. "You'd think..."

"They never got close enough to see me," Ken said, the pair dropping the subject quickly, Daisuke shaking his head as Hikari, Tailmon, Yamato, and his partner passed by, Hikari stopping.

"If you see Takeru, can you tell him to text me?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, sure!" Daisuke said with a grin. "I wanted to thank him, but he hasn't been here..." He trailed off, wondering exactly where Takeru could have disappeared to.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's fine." Hikari said with a nod. "I just wanted to talk to him. Thank you,"

Daisuke nodded, Ken smiling behind him as he handed over the to go bag holding the containers, having made sure there was several extra for herself and the digimon as well. "I'll make sure Daisuke remembers to pass along the message. If you see him before either of us do, please thank him for inviting us."

"Of course," Hikari said, taking the bag and helping Yamato to her car.

"Now what?" Daisuke asked, glancing at the others.

"We wait?" Ken said with a small shrug. "Wormmon would have loved this." He said, voice soft when he was certain they were alone.

"Should have brought him," Daisuke commented.

"There would have been too many questions for me to answer." Ken said with a shake of his head. "I would not want to drag Wormmon somewhere like this...not without knowing it was safe." Ken tipped his head as the two other women walked over, Sora and Mimi introducing themselves and their partners.

Daisuke felt irked at the idea that Wormmon was stuck in Ken's apartment, but put on a smile and happily served them, watching their digimon curiously as Piyomon and Palmon laughed over something that Mimi had said.

"You're getting upset," Ken commented when they eventually drifted away.

"Maybe I just don't find it fair." Daisuke responded, nodding at the others. "Why do they get to be happy?"

"Did you know," Ken said with an air of boredom, "that the government is also trying to place tracking devices on everyone that has digimon partners? They believe that they're dangerous. While these eight don't seem to be unhappy, there are lot of things that they can't prevent others from doing to them."

"And you know this...how?" Daisuke asked.

"I keep track of the news, unlike other people I know." Ken said with a half smirk. "Why don't you take food and intermingle with them?"

"Will you be okay by yourself?" Daisuke asked, unsure between the choice of going to talk to the others-there were some big names and Taichi had always been his favorite soccer player-and not wanting to leave Ken.

"I'll be fine." He smiled, Daisuke nodding when Ken gently shoved him. He handed him a bowl of ramen, Daisuke wandering over and taking a seat in the grass where Taichi was talking about something he couldn't quite understand.

"Hey Daisuke," he said when the story was finished, turning to him with a smile. "We were just reminiscing about time well spent in the digital world. Your ramen is amazing."

"Thanks!" Daisuke said happily.

"Did you go to culinary school?" Mimi asked, Daisuke almost squirming under her gaze as he shook his head.

"I've been thinking about it though. I want to have my own ramen cart one day." Daisuke explained, Taichi letting his grin grow wider.

"Maybe we'll have you for all of our gatherings. What do you say?" He teased, nudging Daisuke with his elbow as Jou frowned down at a D-terminal. Daisuke glanced towards the doctor, watching him sigh.

"Taichi, do you know where Yamato lives?" He asked, glancing up from his food.

"Eh?" Taichi said with a frown. "I think he moved recently? I'm the worst person to ask probably... Did something happen?"

"Hikari asked me to go over, she found Takeru bleeding and unconscious in the digital world." Jou said, typing out a swift reply as he spoke, confirming that he would be there as soon as he could.

"Yamato, Takeru's brother, right?" Daisuke asked, looking up from his bowl of ramen as he listened to the conversation. "I know where he lives. We helped him move some stuff last week. I can give you directions."

"That works," Jou said with a sigh, grabbing his emergency bag and getting up. "I'm sorry to cut this short. Ready Gomamon?"

The white and purple digimon nodded, getting up from where he had been talking with Palmon and Agumon. Daisuke glanced at them, putting his trash in a trash can and walking over to Ken.

"Will you be okay getting the leftovers home?" He asked.

"Sure, did something happen?" Ken asked, leaning against the table.

"I guess Hikari found Takeru bleeding or something." Daisuke explained. "He's over at Yamato's now, so I'm going to go with Jou to his place."

"Ah, be careful, will you?" Ken said, watching him in worry. Daisuke nodded, flashing him a grin.

"Always will be," he said, turning and heading off with Jou to his car.

*****

"Which way?" Jou asked, unlocking his car. Daisuke slid into the vehicle, glancing at the backseat to see an assortment of medical supplies and a bag marked emergencies that Jou had grabbed from where they were sitting. Jou got in as well, starting the car and waiting.

Daisuke began to give him directions, Gomamon jumping up on his lap to look out the window. It was a short fifteen minute drive, Jou making in under ten. He parked the car outside of the apartment building, making sure to grab his emergency bag before having Daisuke show him the way up. Hikari answered the door when Jou knocked, ushering him in.

"What happened?" He asked, stepping into the room and removing his coat, Gomamon hurrying after him. Daisuke hesitated on the threshold, Hikari beckoning him in with a grimace.

"I don't know, I got a message asking me to open a portal to the digital world. Something about him having fallen through, maybe? He didn't know how he got there. When I went there, Pegasmon was attacking us." Hikari said, Patamon shuffling away from Takeru as Jou walked over, pulling out a small pair of scissors from his bag and cutting off the rest of Takeru’s ruined shirt, Daisuke watching in morbid fascination as Jou worked.

"That's...a lot of blood." Yamato said, propped up against a wall. Jou glanced up, grimacing and pointing his scissors at Yamato.

"You need to get to bed." He commented, voice barely containing a threat though Daisuke saw Yamato go a shade paler.

"I'm going that way. Hikari knows where towels are at." Yamato said, Gabumon tugging on his partner's hand and leading him back into the bedroom, shutting the door.

"Towel?" Hikari asked, passing Jou the soft towel before he got the chance to ask. He began to clean the wound, Daisuke shifting from where he was standing.

"Anything I can do?" Daisuke asked, stopping near the front of the small apartment living room. He glanced over, catching sight of the ripped skin on Takeru's chest.

"Maybe get me some more damp towels?" Jou asked, glancing up. "Tailmon, Hikari, why don't you take Patamon and see if you can figure out any information? I'll work on stitching this up and seeing if I can get Takeru awake." Daisuke took the towels that Jou had indicated, taking them to the sink and getting them damp. Hikari and Tailmon shared a glance, Hikari gently picking up the morose Patamon and taking him to the small patio.

Jou frowned, using one towel to clean away the blood. He winced, looking at the luckily intact muscle beneath the skin flaps. He began to pull the skin, aligning it best he could. He accepted another towel from Daisuke, the man stopping next to the couch and glancing at Takeru.

"He looks pale," Daisuke murmured.

"He's lost a lot of blood, judging by the state of his jacket." Jou said, his gaze flicking up as he grabbed a bottle of antiseptic, getting a clean, packaged towel out of his bag and opening it. He dumped several measures of antiseptic onto the towel, beginning to carefully clean the ragged cuts.

"It's right over the tattoo," Daisuke said, getting a glimpse of the ruined face.

"HolyAngemon," Jou said, shaking his head. "These are going to scar," he added, grabbing a needle and threading it. He held it in his mouth as he asked his next question, his hands busy with laying the pieces of skin in as straight of a line as possible. "How squeamish are you Daisuke?"

"Not very?" Daisuke said with a frown, watching as Jou frowned.. "I had a lot of injuries when I was a kid," he offered as way of explanation.

"If he wakes up, you need to restrain him." Jou commented. "With him passed out, I'm unwilling to administer anything than a general anaesthetic, which I don't have on me right now. Didn't think I would need it."

"I can do that." Daisuke promised, positioning himself to grab hold of Takeru if he did wake up.

It was several minutes before Takeru began to stir, the blond making a rather loud noise of protest that brought Hikari skidding into the room.

"Hikari, will you sit on his legs?" Jou asked, holding the needle away from Takeru. Hikari walked over, leaning over and grabbing Takeru's ankles.

"W-what the-" Takeru blustered, eyes going wide as he caught sight of the needle.

"Oh Takeru, we have rope to tie you down in the back if you don't stop thrashing," Hikari said sweetly, flashing him a smile.

"I am almost done," Jou promised. "After I finish the last few stitches, I will give you a pain killer. It's too late to do it now, it would be pointless."

Takeru caught sight of the stitches that had already been done, swallowing hard and determinedly looking at the ceiling. "Please, continue." He whispered, voice strained.

"So what's the digital world like?" Daisuke asked, bracing himself against Takeru's shoulders, his chest mere inches away from Takeru's face.

"Dangerous," Hikari said.

"While it does hold a large degree of dangerous things, there is beauty as well in the digital world." Jou said as he worked the last few stitches through Takeru's side. "Don't move." He warned Takeru.

Takeru blinked, heaving a sigh. "We were kids when we went to the digital world. It was more dangerous than we had ever dealt with. We saw-" He hissed as Jou tied off the stitching, sitting back and applying antiseptic over it.

"We're going to need to bandage this," he said, already digging through his bag. "You two can let him up now."

Takeru drew in a grateful breath when Daisuke stepped back, Hikari letting his ankles go and winking at him. "What happened?" He asked, sounding faint.

"I got your message, we had to take Yamato home as it was. He's unwell. Probably took something, I think your screaming caused half the neighborhood to jump at least." Hikari teased. "When we got there, you were unconscious and Pegasmon attacked us. We already discussed that. You're going to have some horrible scarring, and Jou is the best medic we know."

Daisuke watched the rundown, his gaze catching Takeru's tattoos curiously. He could make out the one digimon he knew in the form of Patamon, the others making him wonder what they would look like in person.

"I was told that the ancient ones walk again," Takeru said, the memory foggy as Jou offered him an oral pain killer. He sat down, beginning to wrap the wound, Takeru sitting up as best as he could to help with the process.

"You should get him home," Jou said, turning his attention to Hikari when he finished with the wraps, making sure Takeru was laying back down. "He needs rest, and time to recover from the blood loss. If I had to hazard a guess, somewhere of about twenty percent was lost. Anymore and you would have needed to take him to a hospital, rather than call me. No extraneous activities, I would say a day or two of bedrest, if you can get him to stay there."

"He has a desk job, can he go to that?" Daisuke asked curiously.

"If he feels up to it, I don't think he will in the next couple of days. Those cuts were deep. Luckily, the muscle was intact, otherwise I would have insisted that he go to an actual hospital and not just ask for me to patch him up on the spot. No visits to the digital world for at least a week." He said, aiming the last statement at Takeru.

"I got it," Takeru said. "I didn't even mean to go in the first place." He closed his eyes, Patamon settling next to him.

"Come on, you can't sleep yet." HIkari said, poking him in his unhurt side. "We have to get you home."

There's a small cough, Hikari glancing up when she saw Gabumon. "Yamato does ask that the blood is cleaned up before you leave, if you don't mind. And if Takeru needs a shirt, I have one for him." The digimon said, holding out the shirt. Hikari walked over, taking it and thanking him.

"Don't worry Gabumon, Jou and I got it!" Gomamon said, walking over to the digimon and patting him on his back.

"Don't worry, we have it." Jou said with a sigh, getting up to clean his hands. "It's not something I would leave a mess. Tell Yamato to go to bed or I'll come in there and dose him with something that will make him sleep."

"I got it," Gabumon said, shuffling back into the bedroom.

"Do you need help getting Takeru to the car?" Jou asked, already grabbing several clean towels to work on the couch, regretfully wishing that they had thought to lay him down on a towel or blanket, rather than his ruined jacket and shirt.

"We can get it," Daisuke said quickly, having stayed silent the entire exchange. He glanced over his shoulder, having been excited to see Gabumon once more as well.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice Jou." Hikari said, walking over and giving the doctor a hug. "It really means a lot."

Jou nodded, drying his hands on a clean towel and adjusting his glasses. "Will you make sure that he keeps an eye out for infection? If anything turns green, or any sort of infection starts, let me know immediately."

"I'll keep an eye on it," Daisuke promised. Hikari put the button up shirt on Takeru's chest, smiling at him.

"Let's get this on before you go to sleep, kay? You can sleep in the car." Hikari promised, helping Takeru sit up once more. Takeru blinked at her sleepily, struggling into the shirt and wincing when the stitches pulled.

"If I can get the address for the apartment, I will come by in about a week to check on how it's healing." Jou said, his comment directed towards Hikari as he started to clean the dirty towels in the sink.

"I'll send you the address," Hikari promised, throwing one of Takeru's arms over her shoulder. He grunted, resting his weight on her. Daisuke walked over, Tailmon and Patamon walking to the door. Hikari and Daisuke helped Takeru down to the car, Hikari glancing at Daisuke. "Know how to drive?" She asked.

"Yeah?" He said with a frown, Hikari helping Takeru into the back of the car and tossing Daisuke the keys. "Then drive, I can sit in the back with him."

Daisuke nodded, getting into the driver's seat and adjusting the seat and mirror. He started to drive, nearly jumping when he heard Takeru talk.

"There's going to be more," he whispered, voice low.

"Be more?" Hikari asked, softly.

"The darkness still resides," Takeru said, drifting back to sleep.

"Have any idea as to what he meant?" Daisuke asked, slowing down to the red light.

"Unless there's going to be more chosen children." Hikari said slowly, Daisuke catching her look of worry at Takeru. "When we were younger, we were the only two who could use armour evolution. We found the other digimentals that had crests engraved, but no one was ever able to get them from their resting place. When Gennai last spoke to us, he spoke of the armour evolution being an ancient power. There were four other digimon that could do it, but their partners were never found."

"So there could be more chosen children," Daisuke said, growing excited by the idea.

"Maybe not children in that sense, but more of us, yes." Hikari said, looking up at Daisuke. "We need to be prepared, is all I'm saying. I apologize that this day turned so strange." She said as Daisuke began to drive again.

"It's fine," Daisuke said, and she could hear the smile on his face. "I got to have people like you test my ramen!"

"How are you and Ken doing? It was a pleasure to meet him the other day." Hikari asked, Daisuke catching Patamon shifting uneasily in the passenger seat.

"We're doing pretty good," Daisuke said. "Trying to make sure that we don't bother Takeru too much."

"I'm sure if you were bothering it, he would be more upfront about it." Hikari pointed out.

"I still worry about it," Daisuke shrugged. "You never know what will happen, ya know? It's nice that you trust us with getting to know you and the others. I mean, I know Takeru pretty well and we went to school together but..."

"We were always running off and doing stuff in school, so I understand how it's hard to be friends with someone like that." Hikari said with a smile.

"Do you ever regret what happened?" Daisuke asked, curious about it.

Hikari pondered the question as Daisuke drove, offering her partner a small, sad smile. "I suppose it depends on your version of regret." She said finally. "There were things we did that I wouldn't want to wish on no child as young as we were. But we had to do them, it had to be us, I suppose. We got to meet wonderful people and our friendships have solidified us as people. Sometimes, it gets hard. There were nights with nightmares, right after it first happened and when the gates closed for a time. We tried to push it off as a dream, but it never happened. Then the gates reopened and we were in a stalemate against the digimon kaiser. Neither of us could get the upper hand. And, when he disappeared, we were grateful. The gates stayed open and we didn't have to worry about fighting against someone whose motives we couldn't figure out."

"So...you think something else could be happening?" Daisuke asked, tipping his head at the mention of the digimon kaiser.

"I'm concerned that something major is going to happen," Hikari agreed. "But, like before, we'll get through it. And maybe we'll have help doing it."

Daisuke stopped the car outside of the apartment, glancing at the passed out Takeru. "I can carry him up to his room, if you want to get doors for me." He offered.

"Can I get a picture of you carrying him?" Hikari asked, a grin on her face.

"I guess?" He said with a frown, Tailmon and Patamon already getting out of the car. Daisuke comes around the to the side, hefting Takeru up with a grunt in his arms. Hikari got out of the car, locking it behind her and snapped a picture, Daisuke leading the way to the apartment.

"Ken should be inside," he gasped, leaning against the wall as he adjusted his grip, grunting. "Damn Takeru, what have you been eating?" He asked the unconscious blonde, Hikari letting out a laugh. She checked the handle of the door, using her spare key Takeru had given her for emergencies to unlock it.

"Hello?" Ken called from the kitchen, Daisuke quickly stepping into Takeru's bedroom, glad he had the one closest to the door, and deposited him on the bed, Patamon flapping after him.

"There was an accident," Hikari said, walking over to Ken with a smile. "But, we got it taken care of. Takeru is on bed rest for the next several days, maybe three if you can get him to agree to it. I'd have him call off of work, but again, he's stubborn, so..." She shrugged.

"Is he okay?" Ken asked, concern laced through his words.

"He got hurt," Hikari said, dropping the false positive tone in her voice. "The digital world is dangerous, we all know this. It's just a matter of making sure that we don't get hurt."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Ken said, meeting Hikari's gaze.

"That would be up to Takeru." Hikari said, dropping into a seat with a sigh. "I'll send him a message to call me when he wakes up, but I feel like this is only the beginning."

"The beginning?" Ken asked politely, his gaze seeming to drift away from Hikari as he turned back to cleaning the dishes that had been left behind that morning.

"Of an upheaval in the digital world." Hikari responded, watching as Daisuke brought Takeru a drink, Patamon arguing only briefly to stay with his partner before being convinced to come get food. "It's only going to get worse from here on out," she whispered.

"Why don't you have some food too?" Daisuke said, turning to Hikari. "You had to go before you got a chance to eat."

"I don't want to impose." Hikari said with a shake of her head.

"I promise you aren't imposing." Daisuke said, already pulling out a second bowl for Hikari.

"Miyako would like you to message her," Ken said, glancing up at Hikari. "She had something to tell you, but had left her phone at home."

Hikari nodded, typing out a message on her phone to Miyako. She set the phone aside when Daisuke presented her with a bowl of warmed up ramen, Tailmon jumping on the table next to her curiously. Hikari scooted the bowl over, offering her partner the spoon as Patamon began to slurp out of the bowl.

"It smells delicious," the cat digimon said, taking a sip of it curiously as Daisuke began to prepare a third bowl for Hikari. She relented to the food, eating in silence.

Upon finishing, she and Tailmon got up, offering both Ken and Daisuke a small bow.

"I will take my leave, thank you for the food." She murmured, Tailmon jumping up on her shoulder.

"Thanks for having us!" Daisuke said cheerfully, walking her to the door. He glanced at Ken, watching his shoulders slump. "Do you know what happened?" He asked.

"No, there's been nothing that would have attacked him like that." Ken whispered. "Towers have gone up, but it's not..."

"Oh," Daisuke said finally, his gaze darting to Takeru laying on the bed. "Do you think this is his fault?"

"Probably," Ken said finally. "I don't want them to get hurt because of it Daisuke."

"We'll figure out a way. Did you find the D-3?" He asked.

"Wormmon did, which confirms my suspicions... I'm so sorry," Ken whispered, hiding his hands in his face. "It's my fault that he's-"

"Nah," Daisuke said with a shrug. "It's not your fault, not really. Can't be, you were at the park. Weren't you?"

"Yes..." Ken frowned, meeting Daisuke's gaze.

"I'm not going to lose you." Daisuke said suddenly, stepping close to him and grabbing his hands. "I am not going to give up on you, not yet."

"Okay," Ken said though he sounded hesitant, unsure. Daisuke leaned forward, kissing him.

"It's not your fault." He whispered.

"I don't believe you," Ken said with a shake of his head. "But I suppose I should trust you."

"Of course," he said with a smile, taking Ken's hand and pulling him away from the dishes, deciding that they could be done later.


	5. Chapter 5

Daisuke frowned when he saw light seep under his door, pushing himself up from bed. When he glanced at the clock by his bedside, he saw it was early afternoon. He rubbed his eyes, getting dressed and stepping out of his room, following the light to the kitchen.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" He asked, Takeru glancing up from his food as Daisuke stepped into the small kitchen.

"I'm eating, not quite a task one can do when laying down in bed." He grumbled, his gaze returning to his open laptop before flicking back to Daisuke, almost uncertain.

"Sure it is, if you do it properly," Daisuke said with a grin, walking over and dropping into the chair across from Takeru. His gaze ran across Takeru’s tattoos, finding it thrilling that he wasn't wearing a shirt before he finally settled to looking at Takeru's face. "So, I recognize the Patamon on your tattoos, but who are the others?"

Takeru dropped his gaze to his right arm, letting out a sigh. "Poyomon, Tokomon, Patamon, Angemon, Pegasmon on my back, and HolyAngemon under the bandages." He pointed them out as he spoke, Daisuke matching name to image.

"These look pretty amazing," Daisuke said, getting up from the chair to closer examine the tattoos. "So, Angemon and Tailmon are in the same position on yours and Hikari's. But...isn't Tailmon like...the same size as Patamon?" He asked, holding his hands out to compare them.

"Tailmon is an adult digimon, where as Patamon is a child digimon." Takeru said, shifting his gaze up to Daisuke as he continued to eat. "Different evolution stages."

"So...why's Patamon not like, an angel all the time? If that’s his adult form." Daisuke asked, glancing at Patamon. "And is that why you and Hikari are so close?" He sat back down, watching Takeru curiously.

"Is...this another jab at your nonexistent interest in Hikari or am I...missing something?" Takeru said with a frown, Daisuke quickly shaking his head, turning his attention to where Patamon spoke, the digimon having been resting on the table on the other side of Takeru's laptop.

"It takes a lot of energy to be Angemon all the time." Patamon interrupted. "Tailmon does it because that's what Tailmon does. She needs her crest to evolve into Angewomon, which is a higher level of evolution than Angemon."

"That sounds confusing." Daisuke said, turning to the digimon. "Did you come with a guide book or something for you to learn all of this?" He almost grinned at the question, the memory of asking Ken the same question once making his chest warm.

"No," Takeru said with a quick shake of his head. "We had to learn the hard way. Find out what were were doing, who the digimon were, what they were. Then we had to find the crests, figure out how to evolve them further. Make sure that everything we did was right."

"A guide book would have been easier," Patamon agreed. "But there was fun in learning the way we did."

"So what's the tattoo on the back of your neck represent?" Daisuke asked, leveling a finger at Takeru.

"The crest of hope," Takeru said, looking forlornly at his food before he put it to the side in order to talk with Daisuke. "Each of us eight kids had a specific crest assigned to us. It was, when we were chosen, our most noticeable qualities."

"Will everyone end up with a digimon?" Daisuke asked, invested in the conversation as he leaned against the table, arms folded. There had been discussions with Ken, but he didn't have the same knowledge that Takeru did. Daisuke gave himself a small, triumphant grin, eager to learn whatever else he could about the digimon.

"Maybe, it's hard to say." Takeru said, Daisuke noticing him tense. "There's still a lot of work that's being done." He clenched his teeth as he moved to stand, letting out a sigh. "I don't suppose Jou left you with any pain killers?"

"No," Daisuke said with a shake of his head. "Look, can I-"

"No," Takeru said, drinking the rest of his ramen with a grimace. "I'm going to settle down and do some work from the couch. Unless you need it today?"

"Uh, no, Ken is coming over but-" Daisuke sighed, deciding that would be a conversation best left for later. "If there's anything you need help with, let us know."

"Us, right," Takeru said, Patamon helping him bring the laptop over to the couch. Daisuke watched him for a moment, assuring himself that Takeru was okay as he uncoiled the headphones and put them on. He busied himself with cleaning the dishes that Takeru had left behind, not even minding. It was a moment before he turned back to the blond and cleared his throat.

"Takeru?"

He glanced up, watching as Daisuke shifted by the kitchen entrance. "What?" He asked more sharply than he intended, glancing up from his laptop.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"No," Takeru said, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. "I'm not okay. I'm in pain and I have work to do." He paused when his phone rang, moving to pick it up. "Hello?" He asked, his irritation leaking through his voice.

Daisuke frowned as he listened to Takeru's side of the conversation, tapping his fingers against his thigh in worry as Takeru shook his head.

"Maybe?" Takeru said with a frown. "I've been informed I was supposed to be on bedrest. What's wrong?" Takeru quickly put his phone between his shoulder and ear, setting his laptop to the side. Daisuke watched as Takeru moved, opening his mouth in concern, Takeru talking into the phone before Daisuke could ask what was going on.

"Where in the digital world are you?" He asked.

Daisuke heard Takeru cursed under his breath, watching him grab his digivice from his room along with a shirt. He buttoned up the shirt that Yamato had lent him while walking back to the living room.

"That is not something-" Daisuke began. Takeru aimed the digivice at the computer, ignoring Daisuke's protests as the man moved forward, trying to restrain him. He let out a curse, fumbling with his D-terminal.

"Patamon, armour evolve!" He called, freezing when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"Where are we?" Daisuke asked, his eyes wide. Takeru glanced from Daisuke to the now evolved Pegasmon, shaking his head. Daisuke swallowed, staring at the digital world. It was darker here then the places he had gone to with Ken, other than the base. His stomach flipped at the knowledge that something had convinced Takeru to come here even while hurt.

"We don't have time," He said, pulling himself up on Pegasmon and offering Daisuke his left hand, his right side screaming in pain. "Welcome to the digital world," he added when Daisuke was seated behind him on the digimon.

"Where to?" Pegasmon asked.

"A beach," Takeru said, wrapping his fingers in Pegasmon's mane as the digimon spread his wings, taking off. Daisuke yelped, eyes growing wide as he gripped Takeru's shoulders hard, fingers digging into his muscles. "I don't know which one, Hikari's phone cut out."

"Hey, Takeru, what's this?" Daisuke asked, feeling the weight of a D-3 in his pocket. He pulled it out, showing it to Takeru in hopes that maybe he could explain why there was on there, though it didn't look like Ken's. Takeru tugged on Pegasmon's mane, the digimon stopping with a snort.

"Do you remember where the digimentals we couldn't move were?" Takeru asked, focused on the digimon under him.

"Vaguely," Pegasmon said with a tip of his head. "They were scattered and re-scattered and scattered thrice more." Takeru let go of his mane, pulling out his D-terminal.

He sent the message, Daisuke waving at him again. "So, this thing?" He asked, biting back an impatient comment, wanting to know why only now he had been given a D-3, despite having been to the digital world before.

"Impatient," Takeru said, slipping the D-terminal into his pocket. "It's a D-3, same thing as Hikari and I have. We're going to go digimental searching and..." Takeru winced, tipping his head forward and resting it on Pegasmon's neck.

"You're bleeding," Daisuke commented, pulling his hand away from the wetness on Takeru's side. He shook his head, opening his mouth to ask a question, "are you sure-"

"Hold on," Pegasmon warned, diving downward. Takeru closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Pegasmon's neck and tightened his hold as the digimon hit the sand, spraying it in waves. Daisuke braced himself, his jaw slamming into Takeru's back. "Everyone okay?"

"Urgh," Takeru responded, wincing as Daisuke pulled away from his back. "Why'd you do that?" He asked, letting himself slide off Pegasmon. Daisuke joined him on the sand, landing awkwardly.

"Shellmon," Pegasmon said, reverting back to Patamon and bristling in front of Takeru. He held up his digivice, taking a breath to steady himself. "Evolve," he said calmly, a small part of Daisuke enjoying the amount of control he had over himself. It was rare that Daisuke got to see Takeru take control, though he had seen it when they were in school. He swallowed, taking a step back to be on the safe side.

There was a burst of light, Daisuke taking another step back as Angemon settle in front of them, wings flaring.

"Hydro pressure!" Shellmon scrambled out of the sand, turning his gaze to face Angemon.

He retaliated with the attack Heaven's Knuckle, knocking the digimon across the sand. Takeru pressed a hand to his side as he stayed on his knees, Daisuke moving to kneel next to him.

"Takeru!" Angemon said, turning his head as the Shellmon prepared to attack.

"Forgot about it, just-" he grunted out the last of his words, Angemon returning his attention to the fight. Daisuke watched with wide eyes, his gaze tracking each motion of the battle, his eyes growing wider in excitement at seeing someone else fight. He compared the movements of Stingmon vs Angemon, deciding that Ken had a smoothness that Angemon didn't necessarily possess, Daisuke deciding that Patamon must not often fight in the form of Angemon. His attention was brought back to Takeru as he grunted, wrapping his left arm around himself. His right hand gripped the sand, Daisuke hovering over him with growing concern.

Daisuke scrambled to the side when Takeru upheaved his breakfast, grimacing. He reached out, touching a hand to Takeru's shoulder. He didn't see him turn, jerking his head back slow enough that Takeru smacked into his jaw. He reached up, rubbing it and trying to decide if he would have a bruise there later or not.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Just fine," Takeru grumbled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and sitting back. They watched as Shellmon burrowed back into the sand, Angemon turning to him before devolving and flapping over to his side.

"We have to be careful," the small digimon said, Takeru nodding and touching his head once more.

"I know, thank you Patamon." He murmured.

"Have you heard back from Hikari?" Patamon asked, sitting in the sand next to his partner. Takeru dropped his gaze to the D-terminal still in his hand, looking for something before he shook his head.

"At any rate, we need to keep moving. Maybe we can figure out why Daisuke came along with us." Takeru said, picking himself up. Daisuke moved, catching hold of Takeru's arm and shaking his head in protest.

"Look, we have to get you to an actual hospital to get you checked out." He said, his gaze going from Takeru to Patamon. "You had already lost a lot of blood yesterday. If you popped stitches-"

"I think we should continue to look for your partner." Patamon interjected, glancing from Takeru to Daisuke. "It's not an ideal situation, but we're waiting to hear back from Hikari as is. So, if we stay looking for the digimental a bit more-"

"Your D-3 is beeping," Takeru said, glancing at the device in Daisuke's hand. "Maybe we can follow the beeping to wherever we have to go."

"Okay, but I still think-" Daisuke sighed when Takeru glared at him, hoisting Takeru’s arm over his shoulders and using his free hand to set the D-3 in front of them to follow. It was a short walk, Takeru cursing every step along the way as sharp pain flared up and down his side. It felt like hours before Daisuke stopped at a hollowed out cave.

"Courage," Takeru breathed, his gaze flicking up to the carving on the wall. Daisuke carefully lowered him to the ground, Takeru leaning his head against the cave wall before Daisuke saw him type out a message on his D-terminal.

Daisuke saw him hesitate over whatever he was doing before he tucked his D-terminal into his lap. He turned turned his attention back to the pedestal, listening to Patamon's encouraging suggestions to just try and pull the thing out.

"Look, if it's not your digimental, we can at least mark the spot and see if any others showed up with a D-3." Takeru offered.

"But, there's no Digimon Kaiser. Why would we need the armour evolutions now?" Patamon asked, landing next to Takeru.

"Digimon Kaiser?" Daisuke asked, turning his attention away from the digimental. He felt guilt creep up his spine at the mention of Ken, his hand falling to his side.

"I'll explain after you try," Takeru promised, glancing at Patamon. "Armour evolution is considered an ancient evolution ability. The kid did say that the ancients walked again." He pointed out, almost too softly for Daisuke to make out clearly.

"We're taking the advice of some strange kid now?" Patamon asked, his ear-wings drooping as he sat next to Takeru. "You don't look so good."

"Once we do this, we can get out of here." Takeru promised, looking at his D-terminal once more, Daisuke picking up on the sigh. He glanced back at the digimental before glancing at Takeru, recalling Ken mentioning that towers had been activated once more. He felt on the verge of telling Takeru before he saw him typing on the D-terminal.

"Just pull the damn thing out." He told Daisuke, moving to pull himself up with the aid of the wall. "I don't want to bleed to death in a cave because you can't make up your mind."

Daisuke glanced at him, rolling his eyes. "You aren't going to bleed to death." He said, turning his attention back to the digimental. He rested his hands around it, tugging at the digimental and nearly falling when it came out of the pedestal for him.

"I...pulled it?" Daisuke said, jumping back when a blue digimon bounded onto him, jumping on his chest.

"I've been waiting for years!" It said, clapping its hands together.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Takeru asked, almost as if he were trying his hardest to be polite.

"I'm V-mon!" It said, turning to Takeru with a smile.

"Congrats, there's a tv to go through about ten feet from here." Takeru said, Daisuke quickly calculating how long it would be to get from the shallow cave to the TV, shaking his head as Takeru took stock of what he looked like.

"TV?" V-mon asked, head tipped to the side as he bounced in place.

"Wait, we just got here. Can't we-" Daisuke took one look at Takeru, running over and pulling his arm over his shoulders. He could explore later, he promised himself. He could explore with Ken, if he wasn't busy. "Nope, let's go. Is Jou already informed?"

"Yes, he's on the way," Takeru said, leaning against Daisuke gratefully as Patamon and V-mon followed, the digimon exchanging glances. Daisuke found the TV that they had entered the digital world from, aiming his D-3 at it and allowing them to be sucked back through.

Takeru gratefully accepted the help onto the couch, rubbing his eyes. "Patamon, you did see two other beams of light leave the egg hole when V-mon appeared, right?"

"I did," the digimon said with a nod. "Are we going to look into that?"

"No...right now," Takeru said. "Now, I think is a good time to faint." He added, Daisuke moving to make sure he collapsed onto the couch. He pulled out his phone, hesitating over Ken's number before the doorbell rang. He gave a huffy sigh of annoyance, placing his phone in his pocket and turning to let Jou in.

"What in the world did he think he was doing?" Jou demanded, setting his bag down and beginning to pull the shirt off of Takeru.

"Not sure actually, he said something about a phone call and then we went to the digital world and now we're back here." Daisuke said with a small shrug, getting the towel that Jou requested.

He took it, grumbling under his breath as he removed the bandages, clicking his tongue. "This is what I get for becoming a doctor..." he grumbled, getting up and heading into the kitchen. He washed his hands with soap, drying them on another clean towel before turning and sitting next to Takeru. "I hope he learns a lesson from this."

"He's stubborn." Patamon said quietly.

"Yes, and it doesn't do him any good to go running off without a thought in his head. That is something I would have thought of Taichi. Hell, even Yamato. Takeru does not need to be taking after the reckless, idiotic leader that Taichi was in the past." Jou grumbled, Gomamon letting out a snort.

"Where would the team be without you?" The purple spotted digimon asked, Jou shooting him a glare.

"Dead, probably." He said, his gaze settling back on Takeru as he prepared a needle and thread. Daisuke watched in silence, grabbing the digimon that had called himself Chibimon before he could jump onto the couch to see what Jou was doing.

"He doesn't look too good," Daisuke said, his gaze locked on Takeru as Jou reapplied several stitches, shaking his head.

"The wound is not infected," he said, almost hesitant after his earlier ranting. "It's healing at quite an astounding rate, if I'm honest. I don't understand..."

Daisuke groaned, sitting on the floor in front of the couch. "He passed out, hasn't woken up since we got back from the digital world."

"Is that where...he came from?" Jou asked, glancing up to where Chibimon was bouncing up and down next to Patamon. Daisuke had let go of him, tired of trying to restrain him after the first three minutes.

"Obviously Jou." Gomamon said, looking up from where he was sitting on the back of the couch. "We digimon don't just appear out of thin air."

"I did!" Chibimon said, bouncing into the conversation and landing on Daisuke's head. "Daisuke freed me from my resting place."

"Freed you?" Jou asked curiously, sitting back on his heels and looking at Takeru in worry, though he had one eye on Chibimon as well.

"I pulled an egg out of a pedestal and V-mon, well Chibimon now?, appeared." Daisuke explained.

"We were worried about getting Takeru back because he blacked out." Patamon explained. "We didn't have time to do any digging."

"We'll have to let Taichi know..." Jou considered, looking at Takeru and shaking his head. "As for him, we'll have to see if he wakes up on his own. I mean, there is nothing wrong with him, other than some popped stitching and blood loss... Maybe the stress he has been under from work has caused these blackouts?"

"Has there been more?" Daisuke asked, glancing at Jou with a startled look.

"Takeru did approach me several months ago. He was starting to black out during the day. Would be doing one thing, one moment, and be doing something else completely different and it would be several hours later with no memory in between. Have you noticed anything off about your roommate?" Jou asked.

Daisuke frowned, considering it before shaking his head. He hadn't heard Takeru mention any thing of the sort, though he had grown use to those sort of messages from Ken. He swallowed, opening his mouth to offer something before Patamon spoke up, staring at Takeru in concern.

"Could it have to do with how the digital world is acting?" Patamon asked, the question seeming random from the actual conversation.

"How the digital world is acting?" Jou asked with a frown, turning his attention to the digimon.

"After the two year stint with the Kaiser, where it seemed like nothing progressed, it went silent." Patamon explained. "Silent as in..."

"Nothing happened, nothing moved. It was peaceful, but stagnant." Gomamon replied.

"Hikari and Takeru never wanted to say anything. Everyone else was so busy with school, then college..." Patamon frowned. "They were worried that they would worry everyone with a threat that wasn't there."

"That doesn't sound like something we should have been concerned with." Jou pointed out. "We were only ever aware when the digital world was in great danger. With it being, not in great danger, it's been a nice relaxing time."

"Something has been wrong though," Patamon said, turning to look at Chibimon and Daisuke, who blinked back at the digimon. "If it weren't in danger, we wouldn't suddenly have new digimon that could armour evolve."

"Well, yes, that does..." Jou frowned, turning his attention to Takeru as the blonde started to move.

"We're fucked," Takeru said, opening his eyes and sitting up. He picked up his phone, noting the email on his d-terminal before he dialed a number. He tapped his fingers against the couch, holding up a finger.

"Koushiro-yes, no-, look, I need you to look up two digimon for me. Qinglongmon and Lucemon. Eh? Uh...Qinglongmon.... S-h-...I don't know how to spell it, no. Don't you have a database? Okay, then just start on Lucemon," Takeru spoke rapidly, getting off the couch and beginning to pace, wincing as he pulled at the stitches. Jou threw up his hands, sitting back.

"That's what I thought," Takeru said, suddenly stopping and dropping his gaze to Daisuke. "Thanks," he said, his voice dropping. He hung up the phone, dropping back onto the couch and pressing his hands into his face.

"Do you want to explain what's going on?" Daisuke glanced up, startled, when he heard the harsh tone in Jou's voice, the blonde looking up to meet his eyes.

"We're fucked," he whispered hoarsely once more, hiding his face.

"Takeru-" Jou said, reaching over and touching his shoulder. Daisuke turned when the bell rang, getting up and walking over to it. He tugged it open, frowning.

"Ken, what are you doing here?" Daisuke asked, pulling him into the room and shutting the front door behind him.

"We were supposed to have a date tonight," Ken reminded him. "Did you forget?"

"Sorry, I got caught up in doing other things." Daisuke apologized, glancing at his phone and grimacing. They hadn't actually had anything planned, other than Daisuke having sent him a quick message saying he had something to tell him.

"I want him out," Takeru said, head snapping up at the sound of Ken's voice.

"I'm sorry?" Ken asked politely, frowning. Daisuke glanced at him, picking up on the tension in his shoulders.

"Just, all of you, need to get out." Takeru said. "Wait, no, we need to hold an emergency meeting." He turned to Jou, gesturing helplessly and thankful that Chibimon was at least staying quiet.

"You can hold your emergency meeting while we go out." Daisuke suggested, frowning.

"Fine, yes, please." Takeru said, Ken giving him a confused look but accepting Daisuke pulling him out of the apartment two minutes later, a small satchel containing Chibimon slung over his shoulder. 

"What was that about?" Ken asked softly as the pair headed down the stairs, Chibimon shoving his head out of the satchel. "Or, what is he about...?"

"I'm Chibimon!" The digimon replied, jumping from Daisuke's bag to Ken's arms. He reached up, catching the digimon before he could fall.

"Takeru ended up going to the digital world and I tagged along by accident. Pulled the digimental of courage and well, Chibimon appeared. Now Takeru's freaking out." Daisuke summarized.

"He's active again," Ken said quietly as Daisuke slid into the passenger seat of Ken's car. He glanced at his boyfriend, Chibimon frowning.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"To meet a friend," Ken said with a smile, turning to look at Chibimon. "But you have to keep him a secret, okay?"

"Why do I have to keep him a secret?" Chibimon responded.

"Ken's like us." Daisuke explained, trying to decide how he could explain it. "Only, the others don't know about him. It's a secret that they don't need to know."

"He has a partner too?" Chibimon asked, turning to glance at Ken as he drove through the quiet streets.

"This complicates things." Ken said finally, nodding at Chibimon. "I do have a partner. His name is Wormmon. I hope you two will become good friends. Now, do you think they wanted you telling me any of this Daisuke?"

"Oh...uh, good question!" Daisuke said with a laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Takeru threw us out so fast that I didn't even get a chance to ask, did I?"

"You really are hopeless." Ken sighed.

"Sadly, the hope does not return my feelings, so I suppose I am truly and forever hopeless, but I'm hopelessly yours." Daisuke grinned, watching as Ken rolled his eyes.

"So romantic, I may swoon." Ken deadpanned, eyes on the road. Daisuke let out a laugh, shaking his head.

"Hey, hey, can we go to the digital world?" Daisuke asked, Chibimon bouncing up at the thought. "Come on, it'd be fun!" He added, Ken offering him a quick glance.

"Sure," he said with a smile. "It would be nice to get Wormmon out too." The rest of the drive was taken in silence, Ken parking in front of his complex and Chibimon grudgingly hopping in the satchel Daisuke had. The pair quickly made their way to Ken's apartment, Ken opening the door and gesturing for Daisuke to come inside. He stepped inside, nodding at Wormmon, who was perched on the back of the couch.

"Are we going to the digital world then?" The digimon asked, watching Ken open the gate program on his laptop.

"We are," Ken agreed. "Daisuke has a friend he wants you to meet."

"A friend?" Wormmon asked, glancing at Daisuke as Chibimon struggled out of the bag, Daisuke taking it off and setting it to the side. "Another digimon,"

"Yep!" Daisuke said with a grin. "We're partners, like you and Ken."

"Hi!" Chibimon said, bounding over to Wormmon and looking at him, eyes full of wonder. "It's nice to meet ya!" He added, darting away to explore the apartment curiously. Daisuke reached out, catching ahold of him with a shake of his head.

"Hold on, we're going to the digital world first." Daisuke explained.

"We are?" Chibimon asked. "But we were there earlier, we could have stayed."

"Takeru was hurt, we couldn't have stayed." Daisuke responded with a firm shake of his head.

"Takeru got hurt again?" Ken asked, concern laced through his words.

"He popped some stitches, didn't really explain what was going on?" Daisuke sighed. "We ended up getting him out of there as quickly as possible. A Shellmon attacked us prior to me finding the digimental and V-mon." He explained.

"That's related to how he got hurt yesterday," Ken said, voice almost too soft for Daisuke to make out.

"Yeah, why we were gone. Did you find anything about it?" Daisuke asked, stopping as Ken leveled his D-3 at the computer, sending them into the digital world. Daisuke moved to catch his balance, Ken brushing off his jacket and shaking his head at the outfit that Daisuke was wearing, opening his mouth.

"Not a word," Daisuke warned, V-mon jumping in place and waving his hands.

"Ken, Ken!" He said, running around Ken's feet. Ken kneeled down, watching V-mon carefully as Wormmon settled next to him. "Isn't this place great?"

"It is," Ken said with a smile, his gaze darting to Daisuke. He stood back up, turning to Daisuke. "There's a video in the base from a tower near where Yagami found him, according to what you told me yesterday..." He hesitated, shaking his head. "Looks like a ringed digimon-"

"We're going to stop it." Daisuke said, shaking his head slowly. "There has to be something..."

"Daisuke," Ken sighed. "Honestly, you would be better off leaving."

"Nope," he said with a grin. "I won't leave you to deal with this on your own. We know that the Kaiser is active again. We just have to get through this. But can I see the video?"

Ken let out a sigh but nodded, turning and walking into the territory. He glanced at his D-3, pausing to evolve Wormmon to Stingmon. "How about a ride?" He suggested, Stingmon kneeling to pick up both the men. V-mon clung to Daisuke's jacket, Ken looking over the pock marked land in disgust.

"This isn't right," he whispered when Stingmon touched down at the base. Ken shoved his way in, Stingmon devolving and following Daisuke in. He glanced around the base, feeling a shudder run down his spine.

"Man, this place is just as creepy as the last couple of times we've been here." Daisuke commented, V-mon scrambling ahead and sniffing around the hallway.

"There are...digimon that had been caught. I released them last night." Ken said, disgust plain in his words. He headed to the control room, Daisuke taking a breath to steady himself. He looked at the video that Ken had pulled up on the screen, Ken pressing play.

He watched as Takeru walked with Pegasmon, his fingers threaded through the digimon's mane. They were quiet, up until the dark shadow swooped out of the trees, hand raised. Ken paused the video, pointing at the digimon.

"Devimon," Ken said, grimacing. The fight ended rather quickly when Ken started playing the video again. The Devimon made one swipe, catching Takeru with his claws before running away, Takeru collapsing next to Pegasmon before the digimon got him on his back. Ken pulled up another video, playing out the fight scene between Nefertimon and Pegasmon, Daisuke taking in a sharp breath as he saw just how well they fought, even against each other.

Ken stopped the video at Patamon devolving, his hands crossing over his chest as he shivered. "He couldn't have done it, could he?"

Daisuke looked up at the question, walking over and resting a hand on his shoulder. "You were at the park, Wormmon was at home. There was no way for him to have set any of them up like that." He gestured, almost unsure of his own words.

"Unless he did it before," Ken said thoughtfully, his fingers beginning to fly over the keyboard. Daisuke reached out, touching a hand to his wrist.

"I don't want to be stuck in this base for the next however long." He said, almost pleading. "I want to explore more, if you don't mind."

"Of course not," Ken sighed, sending himself several files before he shut the program down. he hesitated, wiping several of the old videos and whatever else may have been there before he took Daisuke's hand. The pair walked out of the base, V-mon and Wormmon trudging along behind them.

"What are we gonna do first?" V-mon asked, bouncing around Ken and Daisuke as they walked further from the base, into territory unmarred by any presence of a shadow.

"I'd say we have about another hour, two at the most, to kill before the unofficial exile of my own apartment is over." Daisuke tapped his chin in thought, Ken turning to him with a raised eyebrow.

"You could have stayed, I was perfectly content going my own way. I was worried, which is why I came by in answer to your text. And after what I saw last night..." He shook his head, Daisuke reaching out and taking his free hand with a smile.

"That's really sweet of you." He said, leaning over and kissing him. He pulled away, pulling out his D-terminal and showing Ken the digimental that had been stored in it. "Now, any ideas on how to use this thing?"

"Tap it and say, 'digimental up'." Ken suggested, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.

"That's a really stupid saying." Daisuke said with a quick shake of his head. "Why would you chose to say that for a really awesome evolution?"

"It's what the others did before." Ken explained with a shrug.

"V-mon, armour evolution!" Daisuke called, selecting the digimental. He took a step back as there was a flash of light, Fladramon settling before him. Ken quietly hid his laughter behind his hand as Daisuke ran over to the digimon, eyes wide.

"You two match," he said through small bursts of laughter.

"And we look totally awesome, thank you very much!" Daisuke said, striking a pose next to Fladramon as Ken let himself laugh fully. Daisuke grinned back, relieved to see the tension flee from Ken's shoulders. His smile faltered when Ken froze, slowly sinking to the ground and letting out a low curse. Daisuke moved forward, tugging his hand away.

"What's wrong?" He asked, voice hesitant as Ken looked up at him.

"Just, dizzy is all." He said, slowly shaking his head to clear it.

"Do you want to head back and rest?" Daisuke asked, concern in his voice.

"All it seems to be today is you watching over two barely held together people and not getting your chance to truly see what the digital world has to offer you." Ken said softly, reaching out and touching Daisuke's shoulder, as much for comfort as it was to steady himself. "I'm fine, I want you to enjoy the time with your partner Daisuke."

"Hear that Fladramon?" Daisuke asked, turning to him with a wide grin.

"Does that mean you'll ditch the jacket?" Fladramon snickered.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Daisuke rolled his eyes, peeling off the jacket and flinging it to the side. Wormmon stayed by Ken's leg as Daisuke and Fladramon took off, Daisuke challenging his digimon to a sprinting contest.

"Wormmon?" Ken asked, kneeling next to him.

"Hmm?" The digimon asked, turning to look at him.

"You'll keep an eye on the pair of them for me, won't you?" He asked, reaching down and picking the digimon up, holding him closely to his chest.

"Always," Wormmon said softly, vividly recalling the promise he had made to Ken five years ago, when he had first met Daisuke and wasn't fond of him. Ken smiled, letting out a sigh and taking a step to the side as Fladramon came darting back, Daisuke following. The both of them were laughter and happiness, Ken smiling proudly at them, even as his mind cast to darker thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ken and Daisuke tell each other everything! This scene kinda...threw a wrench in the arguments against not telling Ken. But ya know.... For a relationship based completely on honesty, Daisuke just wasn't not going to tell Ken. Besides, Ken was the one that first showed him the digital world!
> 
> I have a theory that, due to Wormmon's promise, that would be the reason he stuck around after Ken's death. I don't think there was ever a season that went into a character dying but not the digimon partner? Sooo, probably not canon at all. But for Wormmon, there is a strong enough bond that would cause him to stay behind and care for Daisuke as if Ken were still there.


	6. Chapter 6

Daisuke slid his keys into the lock, pressing a finger to his lips and nodding at Ken. Ken raised an eyebrow, watching as Daisuke stepped into the apartment, beckoning Ken in.

"I don't believe Takeru was in a very good mood this afternoon." Ken pointed out, keeping his voice low. "Are you sure it's safe for me to be in here?" He asked, pensive to be anywhere near the other chosen currently, even with Daisuke's reassurances.

"Yes, it will be fine." Daisuke said with a wave of his hand, hearing a laptop shut as he stepped into the living room. He saw Takeru slumped on the couch, Koushiro sitting there as well, his laptop having been balanced on the couch arm. He glanced up, clearing his throat when Daisuke saw them.

"Long...day?" Daisuke asked, seeing that Takeru's head was on Koushiro's lap, though the blonde appeared to be fast asleep.

"Something like that. Hello, Ichijouji Ken, yes?" Koushiro asked, gaze darting past Daisuke to Ken.

"Yes, and you are...?" Ken asked, Daisuke feeling him tense next to him.

"Izumi Koushiro, I would offer to shake your hand but..." He gestured towards Takeru.

"Of course." Daisuke said with a nod. "We'll be in my room. You staying the night Koushiro?" Daisuke asked, tipping his head to the side at the strange sight.

"I don’t know," Koushiro said, opening his laptop once more and typing on the keyboard. He held up a finger for them to wait a moment longer as Daisuke nodded, his gaze darting down to Takeru's face before he took Ken's hand and led him into his bedroom. He heard Koushiro sigh, Daisuke shutting the door before Chibimon could bound out of the satchel, Ken sitting on the bed and tipping his head back.

"I feel like I'm a teenager again." He told Daisuke.

"Oh, how so?" Daisuke grinned, sitting next to him.

"All the sneaking around with you." Ken explained, Daisuke jumping when he heard a thud, moving towards the door and sticking his head out.

"I heard a...crash?" He said with a frown, his gaze darting from Hikari and Taichi, Hikari already holding a camera and snapping a picture of the sleeping Takeru.

"Just heading out," Taichi said with a wave of his hand, offering Daisuke a dismissive glance.

"You weren't here before." Daisuke pointed out, feeling irritation crawl under his skin.

"We can talk about it later Daisuke." Hikari promised, putting the camera away.

"More secrets," he said before Ken called him to bed, soft so not to be heard. Daisuke shook his head as he sat back on the bed, leaning against Ken.

"They're going to keep being secretive." Ken pointed out. "As long as I'm here, they won't trust you."

"I'm not letting you stay by yourself, not after what happened yesterday." Daisuke said firmly.

"And when I have work to do, or other things?" Ken inquired, arching an eyebrow. "You are never going to be able to stay around me, a hundred percent of the time. Eventually, you are going to have to let me go."

"I know, but I can hold onto you for as long as I can." He glanced up when he realized Chibimon wasn't in the room, figuring that he had slipped out when he opened the door to see who had come through the gate.

"Why don't we just go to bed?" Ken suggested. "We can talk about it later. And I'll make sure to leave before Takeru wakes in the morning."

"I don't want them to hate you." Daisuke said, getting up and changing, Ken fetching his own spare clothing and changing as well.

"Then talk to them about it." Ken suggested. "I believe that they are good people, their hearts are in the right place. But, it will come to a point where neither of us can truly hide what we are."

"Then I'll stand by your side, until there is nothing left." Daisuke said through gritted teeth.

"And if it comes to a choice?" Ken asked, sitting back down on the bed, Daisuke hesitating in the middle of the room.

"My choice will always be you." Daisuke responded, swallowing past the lump in his throat. "Even if it means that... Even if I can't..."

"You'd choose me, over being happy with someone else." Ken offered.

"Always," Daisuke responded, moving to kneel in front of him. "You are my everything, always have been Ken."

"Hopeless romantic," Ken teased, Daisuke smiling back at him. Ken leaned down, cupping his hand around Daisuke's cheek and kissed him. "I love you,"

"Love you too Ken," Daisuke said, crawling into bed and pulling Ken down. He relaxed when Ken nestled against him, his breathing slowing into the easiness of sleep while Daisuke stared towards the wall, hoping that it wouldn't come to a choice between Ken and his friends.

****

"Time to go?" Ken mumbled, Daisuke shaking his shoulder lightly.

"Yep, sorry sleeping beauty, but your timeshare is up." Daisuke teased, Ken pushing himself up and changing into the clothes he had been wearing the day prior. Daisuke didn't bother to change, walking past Takeru, who was still sleeping on the couch and Koushiro, who was eating at the table, his laptop in front of him. Koushiro gave them a terse nod, Daisuke rolling his eyes as he slipped on a pair of shoes, walking Ken down to his car.

"Be careful," Ken said softly.

"You too. Text me when you get home?" Daisuke asked, watching Ken nod. He felt his stomach turn when he watched him drive away, glancing at the time on his phone before walking back up to the apartment. He slipped his shoes off at the door, turning to head into the kitchen.

"Good morning Daisuke, how are you?" Koushiro asked, hardly glancing up from where he was typing.

"Fine, I suppose." Daisuke said with a shrug. "Had a good night. What about your emergency meeting? Did it go well?"

"I suppose as well as emergency meetings can go." Koushiro shrugged. "After all the silence in the digital world, no one was expecting new chosen to appear."

"So there's more," Daisuke guessed.

"At least two more. Hida Iori and Inoue Miyako. The plan is to take them to the digital world today." Koushiro said, returning his gaze to his computer. "It's not my place to say, but I would suggest you take care of yourself around Ichijouji,"

Daisuke frowned, turning from where he had been rummaging in the fridge. "I've known him since we were thirteen. There's hardly a mean bone in his body."

"There are things we have seen in the past, that's very similar to what's happening now. It's just a word of caution." Koushiro said, Daisuke feeling his face slip into a grimace.

"Are you saying he's dangerous?" He asked.

"Possibly," Koushiro responded.

"Ken wouldn't hurt anyone." Daisuke snapped, shutting the fridge and turning to Koushiro.

"That's not what-" Koushiro sighed, Daisuke gritting his teeth. "Do you know much about him?"

"Of course I do," Daisuke said with a shrug. "Hell, I was even going to have Chibimon meet him."

"That's a terrible idea." Koushiro decided, finally looking up at Daisuke from his laptop. "It would be unwise to rush into something like that."

"You can't tell me what to do or not to do." Daisuke responded, taking a deep breath to focus himself.

"At least consider a bit of secrecy where Ichijouji is concerned. It will make sense in due time." Koushiro suggested, dropping his gaze when he saw the slow anger that was beginning to build. "It's dangerous. Digimon are not something one should just go about flaunting. People are distrusting of them, they may consider you a threat as well, depending on how it's approached. I simply do not place much trust in your boyfriend." he spoke and flinched at Daisuke's next words.

"He’s my _boyfriend_ , regardless if you don’t put trust in him. You don’t have to, I don't care." He snapped, his voice louder than he had intended. They both froze when they heard Takeru step into the kitchen.

"I'll admit, it's a pretty comfy couch." He offered into the silence. "Why are you screaming so early in the morning?" He stared at Daisuke, Daisuke noting that he wasn't wearing a shirt, but was wearing the same dirty jeans from the day prior. His jaw clenched, Koushiro beginning to speak once more.

“It’s nearly nine.” Koushiro stated, Daisuke rolling his eyes. “Hikari said she wanted to meet you and Iori at her apartment at ten.”

Takeru walked to the table, finding his phone and picking it up. Daisuke watched him type on it, Takeru finally looking up to the two men. “That didn’t actually answer my question.”

“The technicalities of having a digimon and the different…” Koushiro sighed. “Convincing him to not tell his boyfriend is like convincing Taichi that the plan he cooked up is completely going to get us killed.”

“Has Taichi ever gotten us killed before?” Takeru asked blankly, Daisuke letting out a small snort.

“No, but-” Koushiro threw his hands up, Daisuke pleased to see him frustrated.

“I agree with Koushiro on this one.” Takeru said finally, shuffling over to the fridge. “It would be better if you didn’t tell Ken, for the time being.”

“You were rude last night to him, all but shoving him out the door. What’s gotten into you?” Daisuke demanded, hands on his hips. “Why is it all of a sudden, you have like, this hatred of Ken?” He chewed on his tongue after making the comment, almost wishing he hadn't said anything.

“Maybe I reached my limit of what I’m willing to put up with.” Takeru suggested, shaking his head as he threw something together for breakfast. He checked his phone when it pinged, Daisuke picking up on the hint of relief that seemed to spread over him.

“Before you go over to Hikari’s, I have information to pass to you that I gathered last night.” Koushiro said, gesturing towards his laptop and taking control of the conversation once more.

“What are you doing at Hikari’s?” Daisuke asked, curiously edging closer to see what Koushiro was looking at.

“Going to the digital world,” Takeru said with a shrug. “You’re welcome to join us, if you want.”

“Can I tell Ken?” Daisuke pressed.

Takeru glanced up from his food and phone, setting his phone to the side and taking a breath as he handed Koushiro his D-terminal for the information that he needed. “I would caution you not tell him for the time being.” He said slowly, Daisuke watching as he picked each word with care.

“Why not? It’s not like digimon are some big secret anymore. Other people know about them. I-” Daisuke began, frustrated when Takeru cut into the beginning of his tirade.

“I told you no, it’s not a good idea.” Takeru snapped. He finished his food, putting the dish in the sink in quiet frustration. “I don’t have time, or the patience, for this conversation. Argue with me about it later.” He suggested, disappearing into his room.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the couch this morning.” Daisuke grunted. Koushiro finished transferring the information to Takeru’s D-terminal, breaking the connection and confirming that it was indeed on there.

“He’s hurt and in a foul mood. I would suggest not pushing him further on the subject.” Koushiro suggested, saving his work one final time. “I will see you later Daisuke,”

“Hey, do you know what happened to Chibimon?” Daisuke asked, scratching his chin as he considered the fact that he hadn't heard him that morning. “I haven't seen him since I got home last night.”

“Ah, he’s probably in...” Koushiro opened his computer once more, pulling something up that Daisuke couldn't make out. He waved his hand at the computer screen, Daisuke squinting at it in confusion. “Since the digimon are data based, I was able to design a program that would allow them to rest in this room. It’s a cyberspace any of us chosen can access.” He gestured at it, Patamon and Chibimon jumping out of the screen.

“Neat,” Daisuke said with a grin. “I can’t...wait, I can’t.” He sighed, giving up on what would have been a complete thought had it not been derailed. “Thanks,” he added, picking up Chibimon and going back to the food he had prepared for himself. Takeru came out of his room changed, grabbing Patamon and his D-terminal while walking with Koushiro to the door.

Daisuke waited several minutes before he picked up his phone, dialing Ken's number out of habit. It rang twice before Ken picked up.

"I just made it home, what's up?" He asked, Daisuke letting out a sigh.

"I'm frustrated with Takeru is all." He said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm supposed to keep Chibimon a secret from you."

"Didn't I tell you that yesterday?" Ken asked.

"Technically, you asked if I should be telling you any of it." Daisuke said.

"You're going to call him, aren't you?" Ken sighed.

"Probably?" Daisuke tipped his head to the side, watching Chibimon chow down on the food. "I'm frustrated. Why wouldn't I want to tell you this great thing that happened? You're my boyfriend."

"We grew up in a world where having a digimon was a bad thing. Not to mention that we fought before." Ken said softly.

"That wasn't you." Daisuke protested, hearing Wormmon's voice in the background. "It wasn't you." He said, more gently.

"But it was my face." Ken pointed out. "I'm not saying it was me, but they will associate the digimon Kaiser with me Daisuke, no matter how much you reassure me that it wasn't me. In the end, in a way, it was still me."

"I know," Daisuke said, voice soft. Chibimon glanced at him in confusion, the digimon tipping his head to the side. "I know, and there's nothing I can do to help you through that pain. I'm sorry Ken."

"Not your fault," Ken said. "I think I'm going to catch a nap, don't you have work or something?"

"Oh, uh, no, not really." Daisuke admitted. "I suppose I could call my part time job and see if they need anyone to cover, but they haven't for a while so..." He shrugged. "I'm still managing to cover rent and everything, promise!"

"Of course," Ken laughed. "I should never doubt you. Just, don't pester Takeru on my behalf, okay?" He asked.

"Won't promise you that. Are you coming over later tonight?" Daisuke responded, hearing Ken sigh.

"Behave, for me. And more than likely." he suggested. "I have to go, see you later."

"Love you," Daisuke said, hanging up and glancing at Chibimon. The digimon looked up at him, smiling. "What did you think of Koushiro's Cyberspace?"

"It was fun! Not as fun as hanging out with Wormmon in the digital world though." Chibimon said with a quick shake of his head. "I like Wormmon, and Ken!"

"And you know they're both a secret?" Daisuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course," Chibimon promised, nodding to Daisuke.

"Good," Daisuke said, reaching out and touching Chibimon's head, scratching his ears. He glanced at the time, picking up his phone and dialing Takeru's almost as equally familiar number.

"Hello?" Takeru asked on the first ring, Daisuke taking a breath before he began talking.

“Look, are you sure it’s a bad idea to tell Ken?” Daisuke asked. Chibimon glanced up at the question, frowning at his partner.

“Look, I’m sure it’s a bad idea to tell Ken.” Takeru responded, Daisuke nodding slowly. “There’s something that I...don’t trust about him.”

“He’s my boyfriend. Ya know, if you weren’t such a stick in the mud, maybe you would understand.” Daisuke commented. "Honestly, there is just so much that I don't think you understand. In fact, I think that Ken could actually help, if you really want to pull a team together. Don't think I didn't notice the goggles you were wearing. It's honestly stupid, but hey, who am I to judge? You're not even listening...and probably haven’t been for a while now. I could ramble about anything, even admit to the fact that we had sex on the couch and you wouldn’t care, becuase you’re not paying attention. Takeru…?" He sighed when he heard another voice, and Takeru's response of roommate problems before he heard Takeru speak to him again.

“I’m not in the mood to discuss this with you right now. Keep pressing the issue, fine, whatever. Tell him if you really want to that badly. But, can’t you just trust me?” He asked, Daisuke frowning as he heard a tiredness he hadn't heard earlier, feeling the steam of annoyance leave him.

“It feels wrong.” Daisuke said finally, letting out a defeated sigh and shaking his head. “We tell each other everything, ya know?”

“Oh, everything?” Takeru asked, genuinely curious. Daisuke nodded, realizing that Takeru couldn't even see it. “Look, it would be better if you didn’t is all I’m saying.”

“You told him about Patamon.” Daisuke pointed out, feeling a prickle of indignation at having to remind him that.

“And I’m regretting that every moment longer I talk to you.” Takeru responded, his voice rather cheerful. “Look, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to have a bit of secrecy. We don’t know-”

“You are basing a lot of assumptions while not knowing anything.” Daisuke pointed out, voice snappish.

“You’re right, I am.” Takeru snapped back. “Now I’m late. I’ll talk to you later.” Daisuke winced as he heard the click, pulling the phone away from his ear.

"Now what?" Chibimon asked.

"Want to play video games?" He asked, leaning back in his chair and considering the options before him. Chibimon jumped up and down at the prospect, Daisuke smiling and picking him up, the novelty having definitely not worn off of being partners with the digimon.

*****

Ken stared at Daisuke's ceiling, listening to his heart beat. He didn't remember getting there, didn't remember much after their phone call ended. He could hear the frustrated concern coming from Daisuke as he finally pushed himself up, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"I was in the digital world," he said, recalling the memories though they were fuzzy.

Daisuke jumped at the sound of his voice, turning to him in concern. "What happened?" He asked, bringing him over a bowl of soup. Ken took it, shaking his head slowly.

"I don't know, not fully." He admitted. "Just pieces of conversation, seeing Takeru and...taunting them."

"Then he really is going to try and come back." Daisuke said.

"He's already doing it, there's no trying about it. He’s been trying for a year, if not more." Ken said with a slow shake of his head. "Inoue and Hida were there."

"Yeah, they have digimon, or at least had D-3s and were going to the digital world." Daisuke said with a shrug.

"Why didn't you go with them?" Ken inquired.

"I was showing Chibimon the beauty of video games." Daisuke said with a grin, tugging on Ken's hand. "Which, there is a game calling our name right now."

"Fine," He said, getting up and following Daisuke to the couch. Daisuke set up the game, handing Ken the second controller as Chibimon jumped up on the back of the couch, scrambling to nestle between them as they began playing.

"Daisuke showed me this earlier!" He said with a grin, Ken glancing down at him.

"Daisuke didn't think this was too violent to show you?" He asked.

"Well, didn't think about that..." Daisuke frowned. "How can you judge violence for a digimon anyway?"

"You can't," Ken sighed. He set the controller on his lap briefly, rubbing at his temples.

"Headache?" Daisuke guessed, Ken glancing at him with a small shrug.

"I already took something for it, it just hasn't gone away yet." He explained, picking the controller back up and unpausing the game. The pair played in silence for nearly an hour, Daisuke finally setting his controller to the side and turning to Ken, leaning over and kissing him.

Chibimon squirmed out from between them, running off to Daisuke's still open door.

"Takeru could be home soon," Ken pointed out, letting out a small sigh of contentment as Daisuke moved, pushing him down. The game was all but forgotten, Ken placing the remote on the floor.

"So?" Daisuke asked, arching an eyebrow. "I think of it as a sort of revenge..."

"Are you equating me to revenge now?" Ken asked, face going cold. "If that's the case, I don't-" he tried to protest as Daisuke quickly shook his head.

"No, never." He promised. "Maybe I'm just frustrated and tired. I'm tired of the secrets. I'm tired of people insisting that everything has to be a secret from everyone else. And now I have Chibimon lying too."

"You could have gone with them today." Ken reminded Daisuke.

"The digital world is a lot more fun with you there." Daisuke responded.

"How would you know?" Ken protested as Daisuke kissed him again, the man considering the thought.

"I'd rather be with you there, than with anyone else." He responded.

"I see," Ken said, closing his eyes and tipping his head back. He let out a small whine as Daisuke moved to nuzzle his neck, the pair forgetting quickly where they were at.

Daisuke distantly heard the door open, letting out a small curse as Takeru moved through the living room, pulling his hands to himself and sitting up, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head to clear it.

"Welcome home," Daisuke called, Ken quickly making sure he was at least decent enough to face Takeru. He reached forward, the half memories from earlier coming to mind as Daisuke took his hand, gripping it tightly. "Sorry, I didn't know-"

"I think it's time we get a new couch," Takeru said cheerfully, turning to look Daisuke dead in the eye. "What do you think?"

"What's wrong with this one?" Daisuke asked, pulling Ken up once he got off the taller boy. Ken smoothed out his hair, his gaze darting between Daisuke and Takeru curiously as the conversation unfolded, guilt buried somewhere deep.

"Couches are meant for sitting, not shoving your hands down your partner's pants." Takeru responded with a wave of his hand. "I would hate to think....I don't want to know what you've done on that couch. I think it's time for a new one."

"Isn't that a bit of an overaction, Takeru?" Ken asked with a frown. "It's certainly like we haven't stained the couch or anything." They had certainly cleaned the thing well enough when they were younger to ensure that no stains had been left. And recently, they hadn't done anything to stain the couch, hadn’t gone further than making out on the poor thing.

Takeru's frown deepened as he edged closer to his door, food clutched in his hand. "I don't want to think about what you two have done on that couch, let alone what sort of stains you may or may not have left. That's not an image I need in my life, thank you very much."

"Okay, we'll do our best to keep it to the bedroom," Daisuke said with a sigh, his gaze darting over Takeru's appearance and taking note of the goggles.

"Doesn't Ken have an apartment you two can hide out in?" Takeru asked, shaking his head. "Wouldn't that be a better option anyway? Then, and of course I am assuming here, you wouldn't have someone walking in on you two all the time."

"There's sensitive information in my apartment that I can't have being messed up." Ken said with a small shrug, Daisuke rolling his eyes. "I would invite Daisuke over but..."

"I have a tendency to mess those kinds of things up." Daisuke said with a grin. "Besides, it's not like we're really harming anyone."

"Maybe just my eyeballs," Takeru said with a roll of his eyes.

"You've read me some of the stuff you've been sent to edit. Surely this can't be any worse." Daisuke said with a shake of his head. He heard Takeru sigh, the blond disappearing into his bedroom and shutting the door.

Ken sat on the couch, his gaze flickering from Daisuke to the door and back as the other grumbled. "He started wearing goggles," Daisuke said suddenly, dropping back onto the couch.

"Goggles?" Ken asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Hikari's brother always wore goggles, now Takeru's doing it." Daisuke said, crossing his arms. His gaze skittered to Takeru's door, his shoulders slumping.

"Daisuke dear, do you like Takeru?" Ken asked curiously, his voice soft, though he knew the answer to that.

"I... Do I like him?" Daisuke asked, raising an eyebrow. "Where would you get that idea?" He played it off like an old joke, Ken shaking his head with a sigh.

"The mournful gaze as he walks to his room. The way you watch his every move. The fact that we often end up on the couch until you know that he's home." Ken leans forward, resting a hand on Daisuke's cheek. "It's okay if you find interest in other men besides myself." He said with a smile, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side.

This was definitely a conversation they had before.

"That's not-" Daisuke blushed, dropping Ken's gaze. "I mean..."

"Do you?" Ken asked, truthfully curious about his answer.

"Maybe," Daisuke admitted. "But-"

"I must admit, I like him too." Ken said finally, unsure of how else to broach the topic. "I've always wondered what it would be like to be with both of you, but I never found a way to ask you." He had just insisted that Daisuke go find someone else, because it couldn't last with them. "It always seemed like such a delicate subject. And he was hurt so recently...not to mention how he must be feeling after his strong reaction to yesterday." Ken paused, frowning.

"Oh, that thing?" Daisuke said with a frown.

"Yes, he seemed quite distressed." Ken agreed. "Is he feeling unwell?"

"As you said, he did get hurt a couple of days ago," Daisuke said with a shake of his head. "I think he must be in pain or something, but he really must be out of it."

"Well, perhaps we should make him something to feel better. I could come over while he's at work tomorrow and we can surprise him with dinner." Ken suggested, brushing hair behind his ear as he considered it.

"We can do that," Daisuke said with a smile. "I think it would be a nice surprise."

“So is the answer yes to the question?" Ken asked.

"What...question was that?" Daisuke asked.

"You liking Takeru," Ken responded.

"Yeah, I guess so." Daisuke said with a sigh. "Just...it's not strange, is it?"

"I often find that polyamory is a healthy option to explore in romances if all parties are interested." Ken said with a smile, getting off the couch and offering Daisuke a hand. "However, why don't we have some fun tonight?"

"I'm always down," Daisuke said, taking his hand and letting himself be pulled to the bedroom, pushing away the thoughts of what would happen if they added a third person to the relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Parts of this chapter also started to make me wonder why they would keep talking about it, having discussed it before. But, I really didn't want to have to shift whole scenes and editing them both between stories and thus making it confusing to the readers, so it is what it is!


	7. Chapter 7

"Daisuke, you're going to blow the power at this rate." Ken warned, watching as Daisuke moved about the kitchen. He had been watching him cook for the better part of four hours, having gotten off the phone with Takeru not even ten minutes before he started cooking.

Daisuke turned to look at Ken, shaking his head. "I doubt I'll blow the power." He said with a grin.

"You are going to regret those words." Ken decided.

Daisuke rolled his eyes, offering Ken a smile. "I am not," he said, turning on the last burner to the stove. "And anyways, if I blow out the power, than this building has shitty power."

Ken let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead as he sat at the table. "Where's Chibimon?" He asked curiously, needing to get the conversation anywhere else.

"Oh, hiding in my room. After the way Takeru acted, I'm not supposed to tell you he's here. So he's pretending that he doesn't know you or Wormmon...Honestly, it's a mess!" Daisuke laughed, stirring the food in the pot and considering his options. "We could just tell them. It's not going to go well though and you don’t want to."

"No," Ken said, voice flat. "I have not gotten this far by..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We don't know how they're going to respond if we told them something like that. I trust you, Daisuke. I don't trust the others anywhere else as much as I trust you. And it's going to be fine, I promise you."

"Not even Takeru?" Daisuke asked with a raised eyebrow. "If you're not okay with this, I'd rather suggest you don't...force yourself into it."

"I-" Ken sighed, pressing his hand to his forehead and counting to ten before he began to speak. "No, that's not where my hesitation lies."

"Ah," Daisuke said, picking up what he meant without him having to explain. He set his spoon down, shaking his head. "You are welcome to walk out, and I can talk to Takeru alone."

"You don't want to do it without me." Ken pointed out, Daisuke letting out a sigh. "We're at an impasse."

"Then you'll do it," he guessed. "Even if you can't be fully honest."

"Yes," Ken sighed. "I suppose this is a true impasse. Because I want you to be happy, and..."

"I want you to be happy too." Daisuke argued, shaking his head. "We're going to defeat him, and we are going back to a normal life." He ground out the words, taking Ken's hands in his own.

"I love you," Ken said with a smile, Daisuke leaning over and kissing him. "I love the fire that burns in your eyes. Never let that go Daisuke."

"Of course," Daisuke nodded, meeting Ken's eyes. "And don't you ever give up."

"I won't," Ken promised, both of them jumping as the power cut out. "I told you that you were going to blow the power out."

Daisuke sighed, turning to the food. "Just, set the table. It's done cooking anyway." He said, his gaze flicking over everything. He began to plate it, moving easily even in the semi-dark. He glanced towards the window, Daisuke gesturing to the table that was set. Daisuke laid the food down, letting out a curse as he smelled something burn. He turned, Ken taking a step back and grabbing the plate before it fell.

"You forgot about desert," Ken commented, Daisuke pulling it out and taking a sniff.

"Well, it's still edible at least." Daisuke said, Ken letting out a sigh. He looked at the message that he had sent Takeru thirty minutes earlier, frowning. "This night is not ruined." He said, Ken rolling his eyes fondly and turning to see what had happened, if he could figure it out.

They both looked up when they heard Takeru's voice call out, the "Hello?" echoing around the apartment. Daisuke scrambling towards the door, realizing that the curtains were closed. "Damn it, I don't want to play ga-"

Daisuke winced as he crashed into the side table, rubbing his shin and opening his mouth as he saw Takeru's digivice. "Patamon evo-"

Daisuke rested a hand on Takeru's shoulder to try and balance himself out, taking a step back when Takeru nearly elbowed him in the mouth, dancing back with his hands in the air.

"I'm friendly!" He promised.

"Why are the lights out?" Takeru asked, his gaze searching for Daisuke in the apartment.

"Well, I kinda...blew out the power." Daisuke admitted with a small laugh, his voice hesitant.

"And you added blackout curtains to all the windows just so that we could stumble around in the dark?" Takeru asked, crossing his arms over his chest as Patamon sat back on his shoulder.

"Hey, I just got here and hadn't had a chance to open them yet." Daisuke said quickly, Takeru turning his head to Daisuke with a frown.

"I don't... It doesn't matter." Takeru said, pulling out his phone and using the small light to make his way to the window. He tugged the curtain aside, letting the evening light illuminate the apartment as best as it could. "It smells like something burned,"

"Yeah, I did burn something, but that doesn't matter right now either." Daisuke said, taking Takeru's wrist. "Honestly, I just wasn't paying enough attention to the timer earlier. Nothing got ruined though."

"What's going on?" Takeru demanded. Daisuke felt Takeru digging his heels into the carpet as he tried to pull him away from the window. "What was the big thing that I had to rush home for? And, if you just got home, what timer could you have possibly been paying attention to?"

"I'm sorry, did we interrupt something important?" Daisuke asked, his mouth pulling into a frown in the dim light. Takeru glanced around the apartment, raising an eyebrow. “And exactly, I had to...run and get something, and forgot...about the timer. Yeah,”

"I mean, I don't often get to spend time with my brother, as he's been busy with schooling and the like." Takeru said slowly. "But, I only see you around, who is this 'we' that you speak of? And what was so important that I had to come back to deal with it right away?"

"Well, the power's out." Daisuke offered helpfully, honestly having not meant to blow the power out after sending Takeru the message that something had happened.

"I can't help with that." Takeru said tiredly, sitting down on the couch. Daisuke tightened his grip on Takeru's wrist, sure that he wouldn't move until he could make some sense of the scene before him.

"Uhm..." Daisuke sighed, finally letting go of Takeru's wrist. "Fine, I made dinner cause I wanted to talk to you about something. The power going out wasn't actually my fault at least."

"You made dinner cause you wanted to talk to me?" Takeru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, so it wasn't the best plan I've had, but it has its purpose!" Daisuke promised, a smile flashing across his face. "We'll just be eating by candlelight."

"Uh huh... How about we eat out here since there's actually light?" Takeru suggested, gesturing towards the opened window.

"That just ruins the mood." Daisuke said with a sigh.

"You're shit at setting a mood," Ken said, appearing from the dining area with a sigh. "Also, you blew the circuit breaker and the repair man can't come up until tomorrow."

"How is that my-" Daisuke paused, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, since whatever mood you were planning is ruined already..." Takeru turned to Ken, thinking back on his talk with his brother. "I was curious about when you disappeared, do you remember any of it?"

Ken froze, his gaze darting from Daisuke to Takeru before he lifted a hand, running it through his hair. "I don't suppose..." He paused, Patamon shifting on Takeru's shoulder.

"Now that really killed the mood. We should at least eat before the food goes cold, seeing as we can't warm it up." Daisuke interrupted, making his way to the dining area after dropping Takeru’s wrist. Takeru slumped his shoulders, heading towards his room.

"Aren't you coming?" Ken asked curiously, looking over his shoulder.

"I need to put my laptop away." Takeru said with a shake of his head, sharing a glance with Patamon when the man nodded, walking into the other room. Daisuke sighed, rubbing his head and trying to decide what else could go wrong.

"This is going to go wrong," Ken commented quietly.

"No, it's going to be just fine." Daisuke promised, stepping close to Ken and kissing him, his actions gentle.

Daisuke turned when he heard Takeru enter the room, pausing to see the set up. He turned, a smile hesitantly showing on his face.

"I'll bite," Takeru said, sitting down at his normal spot. "What is this all about?" He asked, tipping his head to the side.

"There's no way that this conversation won't be awkward Daisuke, it is completely in your control." Ken said, already beginning to eat the food in front of him.

"That is not what we discussed." Daisuke grumbled, knowing that they hadn't actually discussed the details of the talking with Takeru.

"Look, if it's that Ken wants to move in, I am more than happy finding a place on my own." Takeru promised, moving his hands and picking up his chopsticks as he considered the ramen before him. "I mean, I know you two are pretty well on in your relationship and I would hate to stand between it if you wanted to live together."

"What, no! It's not that at all." Daisuke said with a sharp shake of his head. "It's just that...uhm...well," he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at Ken.

"To put it simply, both Daisuke and myself would have an interest in you joining our relationship," Ken said between mouthfuls of food. Daisuke looked relieved at the save, returning to his own food.

"No, really, if you want me to move out-" Takeru stopped his sentence as the words began to process, his brain slowly pulling meaning from the noise. He blinked once, twice, then stood up. "I'm sorry, I think I walked into the wrong house. Maybe the wrong dimension."

"Told you he wasn't going to take it well." Daisuke said, glancing at Ken.

"It's not a matter of being in the wrong place," Ken said. Takeru glanced at him, listening to his tone of voice. It was sweet, far different from any tone that Takeru would have heard from the Kaiser. Daisuke swallowed, dropping his gaze to his plate as he listened to Ken. "It's a matter of point of interest of both Daisuke and I. We understand if you have no interest of such a thing however and would be more than willing to set the matter aside and not speak of it again, if that is what you wish."

"I..." Takeru blinked, glancing from Daisuke to Ken before he sank back into his chair, pressing his face into his hands and muffling his laughter, shoulders shaking as he did so. Daisuke watched him in concern, unsure of what to do with the knowledge of Takeru laughing at the suggestion.

"I think you broke him," Daisuke told Ken quietly, worry in his eyes.

"Two weeks ago, I would have said yes." Takeru said, pulling himself together long enough to remove his hands from his face. "Now, I just...don't know." He admitted.

"That's fair," Daisuke said with a nod, feeling his stomach turn, though he knew it had been a possibility. "You've been under a lot of stress lately, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Takeru said, his gaze darting from Ken to Daisuke. "I'm really sorry about..." He gestured, unsure of what to say.

"Completely understandable," Ken said with a nod. He offered Takeru a smile, considering him for a moment. "Well, if there is ever a time that you are interested in trying it out, we are here."

"You're serious?" Takeru asked slowly.

"Of course," Daisuke said with a nod. He glanced down when his phone rang, moving to step into his bedroom to take the call. He leaned against the doorframe, smiling at his sister.

"Hey bro, how's it going?" Jun asked.

"You have shitty timing as usual." Daisuke jokes.

"Ah, come on now, I can't have that bad of timing if you answered." Jun responded. "Besides, I told you I'd call you back."

"That was two weeks ago." Daisuke protested.

"Yeah, well, I lost track of time. I've been busy with work and everything. What about you, are you working yet?" Jun asked.

"Actually, I applied for the school in America, the culinary one in New York I told you about." Daisuke admitted. "It was a late application, so I don't know if I'll get in for this semester but..."

"Did you tell Ken yet?" Jun asked, letting out a small whistle.

"No, actually." Daisuke admitted.

"You're doing something without Ken's knowledge? Wow, I really am impressed that you were able to do that."

"Thanks," Daisuke said, tone flat. "He would be all for it. He thinks my cooking can go far if I just apply myself to it."

"And are you?" Jun asked.

"I don't know." Daisuke admitted. "I enjoy being Ken's boyfriend and doing whatever is needed-"

"Housewife in the making," Jun snickered.

"But I want to be able to provide for myself as well." Daisuke said, talking over her and pretending he hadn't heard the comment. "Anyway, I have to go. I'm in the middle of dinner. Why don't I call you back next week sometime?"

"Okay, so next month?" Jun asked.

"You know me so well,” Daisuke said, ending the call after a quick good bye. He walked back to the dining room table, sitting down and feeling eyes suddenly on him.

"I am sorry that I have to reject the offer." Takeru said with a small shake of his head. Daisuke saw Ken's shoulders slump in relief, Daisuke himself nodding with a sad but understanding smile.

"Don't worry," Daisuke promised. "And, once the whole thing gets sorted, we'll still be here." He offered.

"Of course," Ken agreed, glancing at Daisuke with an almost invisible tilt of his mouth, questioning what he meant to say. "It is a standing offer, no reason for us to withdraw it."

"Of course," Takeru said as he finished his food, feeling a pair of eyes on his back as the candle light flickered around them.

It was quiet until Takeru retired to his room, Ken helping Daisuke where he could. Daisuke turned to look at him, stepping closer and kissing him.

“Go home and get some sleep,” he chided.

Ken considered the words, smiling. “How do you know I’ll sleep?”

“I’ll call and have Wormmon confirm that you’re asleep,” Daisuke said with a low voice. “You look like shit Ken. Please?”

He sighed, nodding. “I’ll do that,” he promised as he picked up his bag. He gave Daisuke one last kiss, leaving the apartment and heading home.

*****

The man stood in the base, turning his head to each side as he considered the options before him. He moved forward, resting a hand on the control panel before flexing his fingers, beginning to type. He tracked the movements of the chosen children through the forest, watching as Takeru stopped and gestured towards something.

"What do you aim by doing this?" A voice asked, the man glancing over his shoulder.

"World domination," he said with a shrug.

"Human or digital?" It was a child speaking, one that had plagued the man for years upon him leaving the digital world. The face that would follow him in his dreams.

The man clenched his teeth, turning to face the digimon. "Both, human if not." He said, tipping his head to the side. "Of course, there is the small....matter of new idiots to deal with."

"Ohhh!" The digimon clapped his hands together, stepping closer to the man with a grin. "Kaiser, kaiser," he chimmed in a sing song voice.

"What?" He asked, voice going flat.

"Send the Devimon!" The child giggled, spinning in a circle. "The pain shall be magnificent."

"What do you want Lucemon?" The kaiser asked, his fingers already flying over the keyboard, looking at the digimon that were under his control. Since he had reawoken, he had spent most of his own energy towards furthering his goal. A smirk slowly crawled across his face as he selected the Devimon, sending him and another out to deal with the two pests that were crawling through his territory.

"I want to know your goal." Lucemon said with a shrug. "The others don't trust you."

"I'm a human, what more do they want?" The kaiser said with a shake of his head.

"They don't trust you because of you being human." Lucemon replied. "You're a wild card. Who's to say that you won't turn on them?"

"I have nothing to lose," The kaiser replied. "I devoted my life to the digital world and was shunned, long ago, by the human world. When I returned, I was only recognized because I was 'the genius that disappeared'." He scoffed as he spoke, his hand clenching into a fist. "The human world will perish for what it did to me."

Lucemon giggled again, clapping his hands. "There is no place for you,"

"No, there is not." The kaiser said quietly. "But-" He turned when he heard a bang, realizing he was alone once more. He shook his head, turning to watching the pair traipse through the beach and towards the oil rig, the forest already behind him. He smirked, sending Devimon and LadyDevimon to deal with them.

*****

Daisuke glanced up when he heard the door open, glancing at his phone in worry. He hadn't heard from Ken since he had left last night, a feeling of guilt creeping through him. He swallowed, his gaze darting to the muted TV.

He shifted his gaze to Takeru as the man and digimon walked through the door, hesitantly raising a hand. He hadn't seen Takeru that morning either.

"Hey, welcome home." He commented, returning his gaze to his phone with a tired sigh.

"No Ken tonight?" Takeru asked, slipping his shoes off and heading towards his room.

"No, he's busy the next couple of days. Something about an important deadline at work." Daisuke said with a shrug, swallowing back the fear that he knew where he was.

"Ah," Takeru said, coming out of his room. "Is this due to what happened yesterday? If I made it awkward..."

"Eh, what?" Daisuke looked up again, shaking his head quickly. "Nah, not at all. He already was busy before any of that happened. You know how his job goes." Daisuke shrugged, biting his tongue before he said too much.

"Do you want to come to the digital world with me tomorrow?" Takeru asked, side stepping a small basket and turning to see what Daisuke was watching on the tv.

"Tomorrow night?" Daisuke asked, considering his options. If he went with Takeru, he could search for Ken along the way if he didn't reappear before that.

"Tomorrow night would work." Takeru said with a nod. "You haven't had the chance to go since you received Chibimon, I thought it would be a good idea."

"Sure, I have nothing else to do." Daisuke said, his gaze sliding back to his phone as Takeru watched the muted soccer match, spotting Taichi on the team. “We can go in the afternoon.”

"It's his last season playing professional soccer, right?" Takeru asked, watching the older chosen child run across the field.

"I believe so, but I don't talk to him that much." Daisuke said, setting his phone down finally. "The team's upset that he's retiring. They think it's too soon."

"It's more surprising that the press never learned about this relationship." Takeru commented, relaxing on the couch as the conversation flowed between them easily.

"He's dating someone?" Daisuke asked with a frown.

"In high school, he dated Mimi for a brief few weeks, but they both decided they were better off not dating. He's been dating Koushiro since then." Takeru explained, nodding at the TV.

"They even managed to keep it from the media, that's...really surprising." Daisuke said finally, surprised, watching the figures on the screen.

"Koushiro keeps pretty busy with his work, but he goes to all of Taichi's home games that he can. I mean, we all do. But, with the work both of them have been doing, it gets harder each year. We all plan on being there for his final game next week in Tokyo." Takeru said, Daisuke perking up at the mention of the match.

"That sounds pretty cool to be such good friends with a nationally acclaimed player." Daisuke said, his gaze darting from Takeru to the match on screen, wondering why he had never mentioned it before.

"Yeah, I suppose it can be." Takeru said with a nod. "But, in our own ways, we have just as much fame as Taichi. It just isn't in the same field as soccer."

Daisuke snorted as Takeru talked, pausing the game and glancing at him. "You eight are really close, huh?" He asked, almost jealous by the bonds he had seen in the past couple of days between the older chosen.

"Honestly?" Takeru frowned, looking at his hands in his lap. "Not really, not anymore. Hikari and I are close, but Hikari's been going to school for teaching, which cuts down on her time of seeing the others. Taichi works so much between soccer and trying to get everything settled with the few kids that ended up with partners. No one wants to actually acknowledge what we did, they just want to consider how we can be turned into weapons. Mimi drifts in and out, Jou's been extremely busy with everything. Becoming a doctor, and then translating that over to the digital world in his spare time. It's slow going, but busy. Koushiro's so deep in code most days, he forgets to eat. Sora is helping her mother with the shop while balancing a fashion designing career. Not to mention her brief but successful stint with tattooing that she considered doing as a career. Yamato is studying to be an astronaut because of a whim he had three years ago. Nothing is going to stop him once he puts his mind to it. We're adults, doing our own thing."

"But you eight have these amazing adventures to fall back on!" Daisuke said, his eyes going wide. He had never considered that they wouldn't drift apart, knowing what he knew of them and what Ken had told him before. "An indisputable bond that will follow you through until your end of times."

Takeru nodded his head slowly, seeming to put thought into his next words. "Yes, we are still good friends, maybe just not as good as we once thought we would be. Children grow up and change a lot after going through something traumatic."

"Everyone changes," Daisuke agreed with a nod. "So, when can we go to the digital world? I'm looking forward to seeing what Chibimon can do."

"Where’s Chibimon?" Takeru asked.

"Sleeping in my room. Ate his way through most of last night's leftovers. Oh, power guy came and fixed whatever had blown yesterday." Daisuke commented.

"Yes, I did realize that there was power." Takeru said, his gaze darting around the room. "Look, are you...angry at me?"

"Angry?" Daisuke frowned, turning his attention to Takeru. "What reason would I have to be angry with you?" He asked, tipping his head to the side.

"For turning you and Ken down." Takeru replied. "I just, don't want our living situation to turn awkward..."

"I mean, it was a bit of a let down, but it was also something we sprung on you with no other warning than offering." Daisuke pointed out, feeling his own guilt blossom at the fact. "So we can see where you would have been hesitant. And," he paused, glancing around the room, "the offer is always open."

"Daisuke..." Takeru sighed, seeming to think better of what he wanted to say. "I'm going to be doing work from home for a while. Which means, if you don't go out tomorrow, we can go to the digital world pretty early. Now, you did mention that Ken would be busy, so it might be a good chance to go during the day."

"Sure!" Daisuke said, his face lighting up at the thought. "Will anyone else be there?"

"Probably not," Takeru said with a shake of his head. "The others, other than Iori, are busy tomorrow with work and projects. I mean, Iori will be busy until tomorrow evening as it is."

"Then what about you?" Daisuke frowned.

"I lucked out in working for an editing company." Takeru said with a shake of his head. "It's, luckily, stuff I can do from home. Though, I do need to finish the last run of edits on that and submit it..." He trailed off as he considered the options, his gaze flickering to Daisuke.

"Well, I'm not doing anything tomorrow." Daisuke promised with a grin.

"Then, tomorrow in the early afternoon, we can head out and go to the digital world." Takeru decided, getting up from the couch and heading to the bathroom. "Any questions?"

"Nope," Daisuke said, his gaze already fixed on the TV once more as he went back to watching the game.

*****

Daisuke chewed on his thumb as he looked at his phone, seeing it was around five in the morning. He looked at the no new messages from Ken, pushing himself up and shaking his head.

"What's wrong?" Chibimon asked, bounding after his partner as he began to pace.

"I'm worried about Ken." He explained, turning to stop. Chibimon nearly collided with him, stopping to look up at him curiously.

"Why?" He asked.

"He disappeared yesterday and I haven't seen him since." Daisuke explained. "I can't keep..." He sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm worried that something bad happened to him.

"Why don't you stay with him then?" Chibimon asked.

"It's hard to explain, do you want breakfast?" He asked, turning towards his door. Chibimon surged ahead when he opened it, Daisuke laughing as he followed the small digimon to the kitchen, pulling out eggs and doubling what he thought he needed, making a mental note to buy more later that day.

He hovered over the food as he began to cook, a mask of concentration overtaking him. He pondered the issue with Ken, worried that he had slipped off to the digital world. He considered the amount of damage the kaiser could do unsupervised, the thoughts clashing in his head.

"What time is it?" Takeru asked, leaning against the counter.

"Eh?" Daisuke turned his head when he heard Takeru and jumping when he saw the man. He glanced around, seeing that Chibimon had also slipped off somewhere "Oh, morning. It's not even six yet."

"Then why are you awake?" Takeru asked, running a hand over his face, Daisuke staring back at the eggs as if they could give him the answers he needed to help Ken.

"Couldn't sleep, thought cooking would make it better." Daisuke said with a shrug. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"No, it's fine, I probably would have been up soon anyway." Takeru said with a shake of his head. "So why couldn't you sleep?" He asked.

"Just, a lot of thoughts going through my head." Daisuke said, scrambling the eggs a bit more before pulling the pan off the stove. "Do you want any?" He asked, already portioning himself and Chibimon off some eggs.

"Sure," Takeru said, watching Daisuke pull out a second plate.

"Something the matter?" Daisuke asked, turning to Takeru and noting the look on his face as he held out the plate. Takeru took it, grabbing a fork and sitting at the table.

"Nothing," he said finally, taking a bite of egg. "Just, worried about the outcome of everything that has been happening."

"Ah," Daisuke said, sitting across from Takeru. "Maybe it's something Ken could help with? I mean, if it's a logic puzzle that you're trying to solve..."

"I don't think he could help with this one." Takeru said, his face pulling into a frown. "I mean, it's not really a logic puzzle anyway. More of a way to figure out what we're supposed to be doing, who we're supposed to be fighting. There's no clear cut answer to that and it's not something anyone else can help with."

"Oh," Daisuke said, his shoulders seeming to sag. "I just..."

"Hmm?" Takeru said, watching the emotions dance across Daisuke's face. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I just," Daisuke sighed. "Doing the whole thing without Ken feels...wrong somehow." He said after a moment, trying to figure out what was really wrong with him. "Like something's missing."

"The whole thing?" Takeru repeated with a frown. "I don't think I understand."

"Oh, well, er... I mean the whole thing regarding the digital world. I just...I'm so used to doing things with Ken, going there without him feels...terrifying, if I'm honest." Daisuke mumbled, his words almost hard to make out. All of his adventures had been with Ken, besides the one time he had gone with Takeru and now the kaiser had resurfaced.

"Ah," Takeru paused as he thought, swallowing the egg with a disgusted face that Daisuke decided to ignore. "Well, I don't know what to say that would...help."

"Nothing would," he said with a shake of his head. "Just, something that I have to get over, right? Besides, you'll be there with me in the digital world!" He grinned, trying to remind himself that it would be okay.

"Don't forget that you have Chibimon with you as well." Takeru said with a shake of his head. "He'll be even more important in the coming conflicts than my presence or anyone else's presence will be."

"Of course," Daisuke said with a nod. "I just meant..." He paused, hesitation plain as he considered his words. "I would rather be in the digital world with another human I could trust, than be there by myself, ya know?"

"You seemed so confident yesterday." Takeru said with a frown.

"I know, then I started thinking about it..." Daisuke sighed, dropping his hands from his own plate of food still sitting on the counter. "I feel helpless, honestly."

"Helpless?" Takeru asked, his frown deepening as Daisuke nodded, finally picking out a word for how he felt with the situation of the Kaiser, Ken, and the others.

"It's stupid, right?" He asked with half a smile, watching Takeru. “And once I started thinking about feeling helpless, I ended up not sleeping and so…” He gestured towards the eggs.

"I don't think it's stupid per say," Takeru said with a shake of his head. "Maybe a bit...surprising."

"Right," Daisuke sighed, his shoulders slumping as he moved his plate to the table, sitting a seat over from Takeru and propping his head up with his chin, plate in front of him. "Sorry, I'll be ready to go in a couple hours."

"Are you worried that you aren't worthy or something?" Takeru asked, taking another bite of egg to give himself time to respond to whatever Daisuke would say.

"Worthy?" Daisuke said, tipping his head to the side as he tried to puzzle out the meaning.

"Being given a digimon later in life," Takeru said with a small shrug. "It's about the only reason I can come up with, at least with what I know, that you would have such a drastic turn over night."

"That...may be part of it." Daisuke said with a nod, feeling a pit of guilt well up that he was lying to Takeru. "You said some of this stuff was happening in school as well. If we were really worth anything, why couldn't we have helped you back then?" He asked, a new doubt suddenly appearing in the back of his mind.

"Maybe the digital world knew that it would pass by and we didn't really need the help, but now we need the help." Takeru said, a small frown pulling at the corner of his mouth. "It would even be that whoever pulls the strings, didn't consider pulling in more children to help."

"But once the gates stabilized, more people got digimon." Daisuke pointed out, realizing that he had been going to the digital world for nearly five years -his fifth year anniversary present from Ken was a promise to kill the man if the kaiser took over, damn it- and had never gotten Chibimon until he went with Takeru.

"Some, yes, but not everyone." Takeru retorted, setting his fork down. "Are you upset because you found your partner so late?"

"If I was truly needed, wouldn't I have been...I don't know, chosen sooner?" Daisuke asked, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to have to think about fighting Ken when he was younger, not knowing what he did now.

"Maybe," Takeru said with a small shrug, seeming to consider the conversation. "It's hard to say why it happened the way it did. But, that doesn't mean any of us think of you as less because of when you were chosen. I'm happy to have you here, with us." Takeru said, meeting Daisuke's gaze. "I would rather have you three by my side than anyone else."

"Then...why say no?" Daisuke asked quietly, not meaning to ask the question as well as he considered the fiasco two days prior.

Takeru shook his head slowly. "Is that what all of this is about?" He asked, Daisuke picking out the struggle to keep his words steady.

"Maybe," Daisuke admitted, his gaze suddenly becoming glued to his food, as if he realized it was still sitting in front of him.

"I," Takeru shook his head, letting his gaze drop to his own food as he began to eat once more. "I don't know," he settled on finally. "I don't think I could handle having a relationship, not with everything that is happening. Even more so a relationship that has different dynamics than what would be considered...not normal, but let's call it mainstream."

"But, if we had asked earlier?" Daisuke pressed, grasping at anything that would keep his mind away from imagining the Kaiser hurting Takeru.

"I would have most likely said yes. Things were quieter. We didn't have the threat of pending doom over us all. With the Kaiser back in play-" he began.

"The kaiser," Daisuke asked, finally looking up to meet Takeru's gaze. He wanted to laugh at how the kaiser was the one preventing both he and Ken from being normal to begin with, wanted to tell Takeru everything but unwilling to break Ken's trust.

"Yes, he called himself the digimon Kaiser." Takeru said. "I told you I was going to tell you about him. He wanted to rule the digital world. He created these towers that made evolution impossible. We were using the digimentals to evolve known as armour evolution to fight him. He had...this idea that he was better than everyone." He watched Daisuke finish his food, the other getting up and putting the plate in the sink.

"What do you think?" Daisuke asked, curious about what Takeru would say if he knew the truth.

"He is insane," Takeru selected, Daisuke catching him closing his eyes and tipping his head back. "We can't deny that he isn't smart. Doing so would put us in harm's way. But we don't know what else we are fighting against. With everything a mess-"

Daisuke felt a brief surge of anger at the situation, his hand clenching the plate tightly before he's moving while Takeru speaks, cutting him off with a sharp kiss, lifting a hand and resting it on his cheek. He deepened the kiss, mind screeching for him to stop.

He pulled back to catch his breath, feeling a well of disgust creep up, frustration nearly overwhelming him as Takeru jumped out of his chair, staring at him with a startled expression.

"What...the hell?" He asked, taking a step back as Daisuke blinked, shaking his head and opening his mouth, wondering if he had been possessed. He knew it was his own fuck up as he heard Takeru begin to talk once more. "Nope, no, that-what the fuck?" Takeru demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry," Daisuke said quietly. "I-I just wanted-I'm sorry. I-" Daisuke was aware that Takeru wasn't listening, his own feelings a jumbled mess of confusion. He fell silent when he felt Takeru slap him across the face, watching the blond drop his face into his hands. He felt the silence grow into something ominous, the decisions dancing before him.

"Daisuke?"

He flinched when he heard Takeru's voice call out, his shoulders slumped as he focused on what he had done, the decision he had made.

"Hey, Daisuke?" Takeru asked, reaching forward and resting a hand on his shoulder, watching Daisuke jump.

"I'm sorry," the man said quietly, desperately wishing that he had never done it, a tiredness dragging at him. He wouldn't be able to stay there, not anymore, not knowing that he could walk away from Ken and pretend-

What could he pretend? That it hadn't happened? That Ken wasn't someone he loved? He focused again when Takeru started speaking, looking at the blond.

"No, I was just caught off guard." Takeru said with a shake of his head. "Just, don't do it again, okay?"

"I can do that." Daisuke mumbled. "I am sorry," he added, wondering if it would mean anything.

"I believe you." Takeru promised. "I reacted to the moment. Hey, Daisuke, are you...crying?" Takeru asked, walking forward and forcing the other to look up at him.

"No," he said, quickly wiping a hand across his eyes. "I just-" Takeru cut him off with a shake of his head, clicking his tongue.

"I reacted poorly. I would rather not be kissed again however," he said. "What's wrong?"

"I feel like everything is falling apart," Daisuke admitted, dragging his gaze up to look at Takeru. It was true, everything was too much for him to handle, he had figured that it. It had been too much for him to handle for over a year now, but he hadn't wanted to add on to the stress Ken was under. "The way I feel about you, it's...driving me crazy. And I don't know what else-"

Takeru shook his head, cutting him off with another click of his tongue. "I can't...make it better, long term. But, you and Ken, the relationship..." He hesitated, trying to form the words for what he wanted. "What is it exactly?"

"I guess..." Daisuke shrugged. "We do maintain an open relationship. More for the fact that we each have our own needs and know that we can't fill them entirely for each other." The fact that I can't convince Ken that he would survive, Daisuke thought bitterly, but didn't say it out loud.

Takeru closed his eyes as he took in the information, hesitant before relenting to the piece of him that wanted to. "May I kiss you?" He asked.

"Er, what?" Daisuke asked, meeting Takeru's open gaze, confusion taking place of the brief bitterness.

"I just..." Takeru sighed, shoulders slumping. "It, while surprising, felt nice." He explained.

"And you want me to...do it again?" Daisuke asked, more confusion overtaking him as he watched Takeru, eyes wide.

"Just, this once." Takeru said. "And then...then we have to go to the digital world and-" he was cut off when Daisuke moved forward, kissing him. He relaxed into the kiss, feeling Daisuke's fingers tangle in his hair. Kissing him felt different from kissing Ken, who was like a rock. Kissing Takeru felt like water moving against a sandy shore, everything seeming to constantly shift and move under him. When Takeru parted to breathe, Daisuke gave him barely enough time to catch it. Takeru shifted his position, deepening the kiss and Daisuke felt him relax.

"We-" Daisuke began, backing away a fraction of a second before Takeru was kissing him again, his own hands creeping up Daisuke's back. It took him more than a couple of seconds before he realized he was straddling Daisuke, a blush crossing his features as he moved to pull back. Daisuke let his mind catch up, realizing with an inward giggle that they were making out on a dining room chair.

"I'm-sorry." Takeru stuttered, shaking his head and finally getting himself away from the other.

"It's fine," Daisuke said, blinking slowly as he watched Takeru. "Do you want to continue?" He asked curiously.

"Continue?" Takeru asked with a frown.

"I....probably shouldn't have suggested that. But it is an open relationship. We could, ya know..." He shrugged, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. It had been two years since Ken all but gave up on trying to get him with anyone else and he still didn't like the idea but...

"It would be a one time thing until...things get sorted out." Takeru said after a moment, frowning. "Are you...comfortable with that?"

"Yeah, I understand." Daisuke said with a nod, his heart bursting at the idea that Takeru would agree. "I'd be okay with that, if you're okay with that."

"I'm okay with that, just...worried about how Ken might react." Takeru said, Daisuke nodding in agreement to the statement. "I mean, sex is..."

"Haven't you had sex before?" Daisuke asked, trying to recall if Takeru had ever brought anyone home in the five years they had been there.

"Er, not...no, I haven't." Takeru admitted sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze darting to Daisuke and back.

"Are you okay with this?" Daisuke asked, holding out his hand. Takeru hesitated, looking at the hand before he took it.

"I trust you," he decided, Daisuke pulling himself up and taking Takeru to the bedroom, his heart leaping at those words. For just a few hours, he could forget the decision to join Ken if the kaiser was truly in control once more, just for a few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Daisuke made his choice, and that scene is a lot better from Daisuke's POV! And I still don't write smut.


	8. Chapter 8

"....Takeru?" Daisuke tried not to squirm as he spoke, watching as Takeru squinted at the time on his phone. Daisuke was glad that now there were no new messages from Ken.

"Mmm?" He asked.

"My arm is stuck under you," Daisuke said, feeling Takeru moving just enough for the other to pull his arm out. He rotated his shoulder, feeling the tingling sensation start up.

"We should...get going," Takeru said, trying to catch his mind up with what had just happened.

"Are you okay?" Daisuke asked, propping himself up on his now freed arm, wincing as the blood started to work its way through once more.

"I don't know," Takeru said, turning to look at him. He set the phone on the pile of Daisuke's clothes next to the bed, keeping his gaze on Daisuke the entire time. "It was...fun,"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Daisuke asked, concern about how Takeru had taken to the activities, hoping he had gone gentle enough.

"I'm embarrassed," Takeru admitted. "I..."

"That's okay." Daisuke promised with a nod, reaching out to touch his cheek. "The first time is always a bit hard to get around. You did fine," he said with a smile. It had been more than fine, but he wasn't going to start singing praises, knowing it might scare him off.

"I'm going to shower," Takeru said, rolling off the bed with a small grunt. "Then we should really...go the digital world?" He said. Daisuke watched him, leaning up and resting a hand on his shoulder to once more trace his fingers over the tattoo on the back of his neck. He had spent nearly thirty minutes just tracing tattoos, Takeru having grown flustered by the attention they had been given.

"They're pretty," he said, his fingers dropping down to trace the outline of Pegasmon. Takeru shuddered under the light touch, closing his eyes as he let Daisuke go back to the meaningless tracing once more.

"Thank you," he said, voice almost clipped with the effort to not pull away. He closed his eyes, letting out the tiniest groan. "I...showers, then maybe head out?" He asked once more, swallowing as Daisuke let go of his shoulder.

"Of course," Daisuke said, picking up his phone from the pile of clothes. "And don't worry, I will tell Ken what happened. It is fine."

Daisuke looked for any new messages upon Takeru’s leaving, sighing and giving up when he heard Takeru knock at his door, letting him know that the shower was ready. He trudged to the bathroom, turning on the hot water and stepping inside, scrubbing himself clean and considered how he would tell Ken, worried that he might react badly if he was coming down from a kaiser induced blackout.

It's another thirty minutes before either of them are ready, Takeru's computer set up and a map saved to his D-terminal. He held out his D-3, making sure Daisuke had Chibimon and that Patamon was on his shoulder before sending both of them into the digital world.

Daisuke stared at the digital world, eyes wide like a child's as he took everything in, V-mon bouncing next to him. He hid his unease at being in a canyon that he knew the base was near, easily pulling up the wonderment he had whenever Ken took him to the digital world, already beginning to bound ahead.

"Don't get too far ahead," Takeru called, pulling up the map of the digimentals and turning towards the closest one. "Besides, you're going in the wrong direction, we need to go this way." He said with a gesture towards the way he was now headed.

Daisuke turned to follow, rolling his eyes before he ran up, slinging his arm over Takeru's shoulder. "You sound like an old man." He informed him, Takeru giving him a half hearted glare, Daisuke easily picking out the exhausted look in his eyes that had been evident earlier.

"Better an old man than dead," he decided, taking another step forward and shaking himself loose from Daisuke's grip. "We're looking for another armour digimental," he explained when Daisuke started to follow him, glad to be going away from the last known location of the kaiser's base.

"That's the thing I picked up before, right?" Daisuke asked, quickly shaking his head when V-mon began to open his mouth in confusion.

"The one that had the symbol of courage on it, right." Takeru said with a nod, glancing down at V-mon. "We still don't know what evolution will be had once you use the digimental..."

"I can do that now, if you want." Daisuke said, already pulling out his D-terminal and halfway to selecting the digimental. Takeru glanced down at the map, noting the distance from the digimental they were seeking as he nodded.

"That would be the best. Patamon, armour evolution." Takeru said calmly, selecting the digimental of hope and watching his digimon evolve proudly. Daisuke glanced at Takeru before doing the same, his gaze resting on V-mon as he evolved into Fladramon.

"You match," Pegasmon commented, glancing between Daisuke and the newly evolved digimon.

"You look totally awesome!" Daisuke said, running up to Fladramon and looking him over, his eyes wide as he examined his partner. "Can he stay in that form?" He asked, turning his gaze back to Takeru and already knowing the answer.

"More than likely not." Takeru said with a shake of his head. "He'll probably devolve back into Chibimon once we return to the human world anyway."

"But I look cool," Fladramon said, glancing down at himself and picking up on Daisuke's tone of excitement. He grinned, striking a pose that had Daisuke grinning, the man striking his own pose with a nudge at the digimon.

Takeru watched the two, turning to glance at Pegasmon before clambering onto his back and nodding. "We'll lead the way to the digimental that's in the vicinity. We need to keep an eye out for anything that may come after us." Takeru warned, threading his fingers through Pegasmon's mane.

“Sounds good!” Daisuke called, ignoring the conversation between Pegasmon and Takeru.

"The next couple of days, I have some writing I need to work on, so I won't be able to come out to the digital world." He called back to Daisuke, the man glancing towards him and frowning at the change in topic.

Daisuke nodded in response, looking at the box canyon that they were entering. He hesitated, wanting to stop and protest going in before he stepped forward, still several steps behind Takeru and Pegasmon.

"Stay alert," Takeru told Pegasmon, turning to look across the canyon. Daisuke took a slow look of horror around the canyon, his gaze finding the dark towers that Ken had showed him. He ground his teeth, Fladramon moving to rest a hand on his shoulder in worry.

"Of course," the digimon said, taking a step back as Takeru worked his way over to the divet, sliding down to stand before the digimental. Daisuke followed, Fladramon lurking near the top of the divot's rim in concern.

"Which crest is this?" Daisuke asked, squatting down to get a better look at it.

"The crest of friendship," Takeru said, cocking his head back as if he heard wings rustling in the distance. He turned, ducking as an errent attack slide over them from an Airdramon.

"You never give up, do you?" The voice said, Daisuke moving and wrenching the digimental of friendship out of the hole. He shoved it towards Takeru's chest, scrambling out of the divot to find Fladramon engaging with the Airdramon, his heart sinking at the sight of the kaiser, outfit and all. He swallowed, the fear that he had shoved down earlier coming back full force.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Takeru climb out of the divot, Pegasmon having been struck down as Fladramon took the brunt of the Airdramon's attention. Daisuke hestiated, his gaze flicking from the kaiser in full uniform to the Airdramon to Fladramon, realizing that the kaiser was hesitating in attacking his partner.

"Of course not." Takeru said blankly, taking a step towards his partner. He kneeled next to his partner, gaze being dragged up as Fladramon blocked an attack from the Airdram headed his way.

"What's your issue?" Daisuke demanded, sudden fury taking over him as the Airdramon stopped attacking, dropping to the ground completely.

"I've been freed Daisuke." The kaiser responded, stepping onto the ground with ease. "I've been bound for so long, it feels wonderful to finally be able to breathe again. Look at how the chosen children," he sneered the words and Daisuke could see Takeru move back with Patamon in the corner of his eye, "have been degraded by human society. Is that really something you want to experience? They're meant to be something great, but they're nothing more than a hassle for the Japanese government. My issue, as you so called it, is that we would never be accepted. My goal is to bring them down to their knees."

"You're not..." Takeru tipped his head back, letting out a low, long laugh. "You wanted to control the digital world before, now you want to rule the human world? What the fuck is wrong with you Ichijouji?" He demanded, turning startlingly angry eyes to the man. He stood up, Patamon held tightly against his chest.

"Ichij...Ken?" Daisuke asked, turning to look at the man taking a step towards him. He knew he just had to play the part, but he wanted to scream at Takeru that it wasn't Ken, that this monster wasn't his boyfriend. He swallowed back the frustration, turning his gaze to the kaiser.

"Yes Daisuke?" The kaiser asked in _his_ voice, tipping his head to the side and turning to look at his partner. "You live with Takeru. You've seen how the chosen children that saved the world are looked down upon. He didn’t even tell you until this past weekend. He was afraid of how you would react. Don't you think it would be better if they were the ones to rule? We have power unimaginable and the government wants to turn us into their own personal pets."

"You're not a chosen anything." Takeru said coldly, Daisuke clenching his hands into fists. "You're a pathetic-"

"Shut up." Daisuke said, turning to glance at Takeru. "You knew, you knew who the kaiser was and you didn’t tell me." He said quietly, almost wanting to laugh. Of course Takeru wouldn't tell him that he expected his boyfriend of nearly ten years as the kaiser. The idea was laughable to him.

Takeru hadn’t want to hurt him, more reasonably.

"No, I didn't." Takeru responded, taking a step back when he felt Fladramon's gaze on him. "There were guesses made on the identity of the kaiser, but we never confirmed. Trust me, if I knew-"

"They hid everything from you. Can you really consider them friends?" The kaiser asked, stepping closer to Daisuke, using what Daisuke had told Ken in private against him. "In school, they never told you what was going on. They shoved you to the side, constantly saying that they didn't have time. Had they only told you sooner, you would have been here sooner. It was only because you were gifted with a digimon now that they even bothered to tell you."

"We didn't-" Takeru began, Daisuke shaking his head and biting hard on his lip. He had made the decision this morning, he had said he would make the decision out loud if they ever faced the kaiser. And yet, a part of him hesitated. Ken had tried to tell him to get out, and even now, looking at the kaiser poised to attack, all he could see was Ken.

"You didn't tell me either," he told Ken-the kaiser giving him a sorrow filled gaze, mournful as he reached up, touching Daisuke's cheek. He almost flinched under the touch, but let him do it anyway, disgust rising up in him.

"I was silenced to not speak of my role in the digital world outside it." He said softly, false pain dripping with each word. "I wish I had been able to tell you Daisuke. It weighed heavily on my heart to hide such a dear secret from you. But here, we can be together forever."

"What are you...?" Takeru frowned, shaking his head. "Daisuke, he's the digimon Kaiser, you can't-"

"I have questions," Daisuke said, his gaze darting from Takeru to the kaiser. "But..."

"Trust me Daisuke, I will answer whatever it is you wish me to." The kaiser promised, his voice soft as he leaned over, kissing his boyfriend. Daisuke raised his hands as if to push the kaiser away, bile rising in the back of his throat as he was finally released, seeing nothing of Ken in him, and having to wonder if Ken was still there-. No, Ken still had to be there, there was no way he was one, not yet. He had to trust in Ken.

"We should go," Takeru said, feeling his voice was too faint for anyone to hear. He saw Daisuke glance at him before he reached out, taking Ken's hand.

"I'm staying to get answers. You can go." Daisuke said, feeling the pain rip through him as he said the words.

"I don't think-" Fladramon said quietly, Takeru shuddering as Daisuke ignored his partner's warning, his hand gripping at the kaiser's tightly.

"I trust Ken." He told the digimon, lifting his chin. The kaiser chuckled, turning to look at Takeru with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"I would run if I were you," he said softly, a slow smirk forming across his face. "The Airdramon don't like people...intruding on their territory."

Daisuke watched Takeru pick himself up, holding Patamon and the digimon close to his chest before he ran from the canyon, several more Airdramon appearing to join the chase moments later. Daisuke flinched, watching him pick up speed, a word of warning on his lips.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, the Kaiser turning to look at him. "You could have gone with him." He said, voice almost teasing.

"No, I couldn't have." Daisuke responded, voice filled with anger. "I hate you,"

"Then why stay?" He asked, amusement spreading across his face. "If you hate me so much, you should have ran."

"I'm not leaving him behind." Daisuke responded. "Call off the Airdramon, he's out of their territory."

"No," the kaiser responded, shrugging. He turned, stepping onto the still hovering Airdramon. "You can't go back now, are you willing to go forward just to _save_ him?"

"Call them off." Daisuke snapped, stepping towards the Airdramon. He felt Fladramon at his back, the digimon not even hesitating.

"No," he responded with a shrug. "Either you're coming or it was bluff. But make your choice. I grow bored with this." Daisuke stepped forward, seeing V-mon devolve out of the corner of his eye.

"What are you doing?" The small digimon asked, bounding over to Daisuke and jumping up to his arms. Daisuke shook his head, taking a step up and onto the Airdramon, taking the kaiser's hand.

"Helping," he said finally, the kaiser laughing as the airdramon took off towards the base.

*****

Daisuke stared at the small room that the slaves -how he hated the way the kaiser spoke of them- had cleared out for him last night. He clenched his hands into fists, V-mon turning to look at him.

"Why would you do that?" The digimon asked. "Weren't you told that the kaiser was a terrible person?"

"Sure, but Ken isn't." Daisuke turned when he heard the door open, walking over and scooping Wormmon up into his arms. "And Wormmon definitely isn't a terrible digimon."

"Why are you here?" The digimon asked, blinking at Daisuke.

"I was worried," Daisuke sighed, shaking his head.

"Ken's going to be mad." Wormmon stated.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm going to fulfill my promise to him, one way or another." Daisuke informed the digimon.

"I hate that plan." Wormmon stated, shaking his head.

"So do I," Daisuke closed his eyes tipping his head back before he stared at the ceiling. He felt Wormmon squirm in his arms, releasing the digimon onto the bed.

"He's going to be upset." Wormmon informed him.

"I know," Daisuke said quietly. "He disappeared, couldn't even get word to me. I don't know what to do Wormmon. I have to do what I think is right, right? Well, I hate the plan that he put forth too. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't come to that."

"And we'll be here with you!" V-mon said, stepping towards Wormmon with a smile. The digimon looked at him, huffing a sigh and shaking his head.

"We'll protect you." Daisuke said, resting his hand on Wormmon's head. "It won't be like last time." Wormmon shuddered at the statement under his hand, Daisuke glancing up when he saw a shadow in the doorway, watching Ken's slender fingers grip the doorframe.

"Daisuke," he breathed.

"Hey," Daisuke said, seeing V-mon scramble up to the bed to sit next to Wormmon. Daisuke watched Ken step into the room, hesitant. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone ran a truck over me." Ken said, leveling a worried gaze at Daisuke. "Why are you here?" He asked, taking a step towards him.

Daisuke met him halfway, taking Ken's hands in his own. "You disappeared." He said quietly. "After the dinner with Takeru on Monday. I was worried. I...also had sex with Takeru, then betrayed him yesterday, but..."

"You could have stayed." Ken watched him, sadness reflected in his eyes.

"No, I couldn't have." Daisuke said with a sharp shake of his head. "You asked me to do this, so I'm going to do it."

"Even if it means betraying them?" Ken asked with a frown. "Daisuke-"

"No, you..." Daisuke sighed, shaking his head. "You would have rather been here alone? Would you have even told me, if I wasn't here? Ken, you asked me, five years ago, to do something that you were so sure that you needed me to do. You cannot tell me now that you would have rather I stayed away."

"No, you're right." Ken whispered. "I did ask you, and you are only doing what I asked you. There's no reason for me to be angry at you. I feel unwell is all."

"How long was the blackout? What do you remember last?" Daisuke asked, keeping Ken's hand in his own.

"Going home from having dinner with you and Takeru." Ken admitted, unable to meet Daisuke's gaze.

"That was Tuesday, it's Thursday now." Daisuke informed him. He watched Ken's gaze flash, a hardness entering his gaze as he glanced at Wormmon, the digimon nodding in agreement.

"Shit," Ken said, pressing a hand to his forehead. Daisuke moved as Ken wavered, catching him when he stumbled. Daisuke clutched him close, picking him up easily and taking him to the bed.

"Wormmon, is there a kitchen?" Daisuke asked.

"Yes, there is even food in it." Wormmon said, pressing close to Ken.

"I'm going to make food for you, don't move." Daisuke warned, V-mon glancing at him in worry. Daisuke nodded at his partner, offering him a strained smile. "Sorry V-mon, probably not something you were thinking of when you became my partner, huh?"

"Nah, but that's okay!" V-mon said, jumping off the bed and walking over to Daisuke. Daisuke smiled, fondly picking up the digimon and looking at Ken sharply.

"Stay, I'll be right back with food." He warned, Ken opening his mouth to protest. He shut it, nodding quietly in agreement and closing his eyes, relaxing into the bed.

"Are you okay?" Wormmon asked quietly, Ken opening an eye and looking at the small digimon.

"Just feeling unwell," he repeated to his partner.

"You weren't going to tell Daisuke." The digimon guessed, Ken opening his mouth before slowly shaking his head.

"No, I suppose I wasn't." He admitted, closing his eyes. "But, I'm glad he's here."

"Me too," Wormmon admitted, pressing against Ken's side in a quiet show of support. Ken closed his eyes, concentrating on the warmth next to him. Daisuke returned moments later, Ken sitting up and staring at the tray that was set down over his legs.

"Eat up," Daisuke informed him, sitting on the bed next to him.

"What have you been doing since yesterday?" Ken asked as he began to eat.

"Oh, you know, finding my shit tossed in the digital world, dealing with the fact that I pissed off Takeru... Haven't seen any of the other chosen. I think they're around, can't make heads or tails of the maps showing the dark towers, but there are white spots where there were black before..." Daisuke shrugged.

"He threw your shit in the digital world?" Ken asked, arching an eyebrow as he looked up from the broth that Daisuke had given him.

"Do you blame him?" Daisuke asked, almost sullenly. "I slept with him then joined the kaiser. I would toss my shit into the digital world too. But, he at least was thoughtful enough to include my recipe book. He could have completely trashed it instead."

"That's...one way to look at it." Ken sighed.

"I am going to try and stop him." Daisuke said suddenly. "The kaiser that is, I'm going to try and stop him from hurting any of the others. I'm going to be a nuisance and get in his way as much as I can."

"Of course you will," Ken laughed, turning his gaze downward.

They sat in silent for several minutes, Daisuke fiddling with a string he had found before he spoke, "do you not want me here?" Daisuke asked.

"I think it's a dangerous game that you're playing." Ken warned, frowning into the food that Daisuke had prepared.

"Well, we're both just going to have to play it then." Daisuke said stubbornly.

"I love you," Ken murmured.

"Love you too," Daisuke responded, relaxing when Ken finished his food. He pressed a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes and tipping his head back.

"Protect Wormmon, please." He pleaded, the digimon looking up sadly at Ken. Daisuke nodded, reaching out and taking Ken's hand.

"For you, anything." He promised softly. "And this was sitting on your desk." He said, setting the digimental of Sincerity down for Ken to see. He frowned, picking it up.

"Where did it come from?" He asked.

"I'm not sure." Daisuke shrugged. “There was a note, but I couldn’t read it.”

"That's the digimental of sincerity." Wormmon spoke up, seeming surprised when they looked towards him. "A Devimon returned with it last night. Said he got it from the two men at the oil rig. They had gone down to retrieve it when they were attacked. They brought it back here because they assumed that is what you wanted."

"We'll have to figure out what it is later then." Daisuke said, pulling out his D-terminal and cataloguing the digimental, feeling a sharp stab of guilt over the fact that it wasn't his.

"What happened to the other one you pulled?" V-mon asked, looking up at Daisuke with wide eyes.

"The friendship digimental?" He frowned, tipping his head to the side. "I think Takeru has it."

"Daisuke, you realize that you are going to have to fight against them, right?" Ken asked, Daisuke turning to look at him. His voice was strained and quiet. "To play the bluff, convince _him_ that you are on his side, you are going to have to lie."

"Yeah, I know." Daisuke sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm going to have to fight against them, play up the buff. I know, and I'll do it."

"If you're sure," Ken said finally. Daisuke took the tray from his lap, studying him.

"Get some rest, we'll need it in the coming days." He said, turning and walking towards the door. Ken opened his mouth to call after him, deciding against it as he reached out and tugged Wormmon close to his chest.

"It's going to be better this time," the digimon promised.

"It's only going to get worse." Ken sighed, holding him close.

"I know," Wormmon said, V-mon edging closer to the two, worried but not speaking.

*****

“Ken?"

Daisuke sat up when he heard his boyfriend groan, the man throwing the sheets off the bed and running his hands through his hair.

"Did I wake you?" Ken asked, turning to look at Daisuke in the semi-darkness.

"Nah, I haven't been able to get to sleep yet." Daisuke said with a quick shake of his head. "Everything okay?"

"No," he whispered, closing his eyes tightly. "Something bad is going to happen and I don't know if I can take it."

"Why don't we do something?" Daisuke suggested, Ken looking at him with a frown.

"Like what?" He asked, Daisuke moving to brush Ken's hair behind his hair.

"I want to know if Wormmon can evolve using the digimentals." Daisuke said with a shrug, Ken frowning and shaking his head. "I know it might not work, but i'm curious." Daisuke explained, picking up his D-terminal from the side table. He could see Wormmon sitting at the edge of the bed in concern, V-mon still snoring away on Daisuke's other side, undisturbed by the talking.

"You're only going to give him ideas." Ken said quietly.

"I'm giving myself ideas." Daisuke said with a small roll of his eyes. "Humor me?" He asked, giving Ken the most pleading look he could summon. It was past midnight, marking the day as the eighth of August.

"Fine," Ken said with a sigh, pushing himself out of bed. Daisuke followed him, V-mon finally looking up and blinking at them sleepily.

"Food?" He asked hopefully.

"Maybe," Daisuke said, watching V-mon scramble off the bed to follow Ken and Daisuke, Wormmon tucked in Ken's arms.

"What are we doing?" He asked, his gaze settling on Wormmon.

"We're going to see if Wormmon can use the digimentals Daisuke has." Ken said through a yawn, Wormmon blinking up in confusion.

"Digimental?" He asked, nestling deeper in Ken's arms sleepily.

"Yeah," Daisuke nodded. "You might remember that being the thing that Hikari and Takeru used when you were....first here." He said.

"There's nine of them," Ken said. "I have records and notes on them, though it was never a long term project that was of interest to him."

"Of course it wouldn't have been." Wormmon spoke up, finally bringing himself full awake to the conversation. "He had no use for them. They were the enemies' weapons."

"And do you know anything about it?" Daisuke asked.

Wormmon remained silent, the pair finding a big enough room. He jumped out of Ken's arms, V-mon moving to stand next to him. Daisuke smiled, handing Ken the D-terminal.

"What is it that you want me to do?" Ken asked, looking down at the D-terminal before looking up at Daisuke.

"Say 'Digimental up'," Daisuke suggested, a smirk playing across his face as Ken sighed.

"That truly sounds horrid," Ken decided, selecting the digimental. "Wormmon, armour evolution." He said, voice soft as he watched his partner, truly expecting nothing to happen. He was surprised, pleasantly, when the glow of evolution took over Wormmon.

"FlaWizarmon," the digimon introduced himself, offering a bow. "A pleasure to be at your service."

"We could use this." Daisuke said quietly, Ken looking at him in confusion, the tiredness in his eyes making Daisuke cringe while guilt crawled up his spine at having woken him up.

"How?" He asked.

"Passing messages to the others." Daisuke explained.

"They may not trust me," FlaWizarmon responded.

"But they might." Daisuke said, running a hand over his face. "Takeru's book, there was mention of a digimon, Wizarmon, he helped Tailmon, in the beginning when she was under Vamdemon's control. Plus..." He hesitated, unsure of how to explain what he wanted to say.

"It's a piece of Ken," FlaWizarmon said softly, his gaze settling on Daisuke as he understood.

"A piece of me?" Ken inquired, his interest caught up finally, the last of his tiredness breaking as he considered the options before him.

"Yeah, a piece of you." Daisuke said, walking over and poking him in the chest. "Like...Like Pegasmon is of Takeru, or...Tailmon is of Hikari. Wormmon is your partner and nothing can ever change that."

"Not even the ghost of the kaiser." FlaWizarmon said softly. "As long as you are here Ken, I am here."

"Thank you," Ken said softly, feeling a lightness in his body as he considered the words. "I am honored," he shifted, turning to FlaWizarmon and bowing to the digimon.

"You are strong Ken." FlaWizarmon said, moving forward and resting a hand on his shoulder before drawing him into a hug. "No matter what happens Ken, I will be here."

"Protect Daisuke, no matter what." Ken whispered into the digimon's shoulder, hiding his face and feeling like a child again. "Like you have for me."

"For you, anything." FlaWizarmon promised, echoing Daisuke's words. The man quickly turned away, feeling embarrassment and happiness flood through him, though he heard Ken's hushed sobs, V-mon tugging on Daisuke's pajama bottoms.

"Can we eat now?" He asked, Ken bursting out laughing. There was a flash of light, FlaWizarmon devolving and Wormmon being caught by Ken, looking up at his partner.

"I'm hungry too," the insect digimon said, Ken smiling at them and nodding.

"Let's eat then!" Daisuke grinned, happy for the time being. He picked up V-mon, the four of them walking through the darkened base to the kitchen, light hearted despite their worries. Daisuke watched Ken, wondering when the next time would be that the kaiser slunk out, intent on ruining the peace they had found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBH, I love FlaWizarmon.
> 
> And it's my parents' 29th anniversary


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that scene again!

Daisuke grumbled as he felt the hand shaking him awake, opening an eye to meet Ken's gaze. "What...?" He grumbled, pushing himself up. They had gone to bed well after two in the morning, Ken unwilling to sleep now that he had an idea of something that could help. He blinked, looking up at the face and registering that it wasn't Ken who was looking at him with such a cold glare.

"We have places to be." The tone was sharp, Daisuke registering that it wasn't Ken who was speaking to him.

"Where are we going?" Daisuke said, pushing himself up and dressing hastily, not even bothering when making sure the kaiser wasn't looking at him, so used to Ken's presence that it didn't matter to him.

"There's a soccer game I want to see." The kaiser said with a smirk. "All of the chosen will be there. I believe you were invited as well. It would a shame if you were to miss it, don’t you think?"

"Ah, who are we taking?" Daisuke asked, feeling V-mon jump down next to him, the digimon glancing at him with a barely conceled frown.

"Mugendramon," the kaiser responded, glancing over his shoulder at Daisuke as he began walking down the hallway. "I want you to try and get a hold of any of the digimentals that the others have." He said, Daisuke frowning.

"Stealing from the enemy, what's the point in that?" He asked, catching a glimpse of Wormmon out of the corner of his eye.

"It makes them less stable, of course." The kaiser rolled his eyes at the explanation, Daisuke mentally snorting.

"And if I don't want to?" He stopped suddenly as the kaiser turned on him, his cape rippling in the air from the movement.

"What choice do you have?" The kaiser inquired, his eyes narrowed as he watched Daisuke shift on his feet, the man slowly shaking his head.

"I suppose very little, but I don't want to steal from them." He said, meeting the kaiser's gaze. He searched for traces of Ken, as had become his habit since he had first started noticing the kaiser slip.

"It doesn't matter," he said after a moment, turning away from Daisuke. Daisuke glanced down at V-mon, grimacing as the digimon rolled his eyes. They headed to the hanger of the base, Daisuke letting out a slow, impressed whistle.

"All of this, just for some game?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.

"It's a statement to show the chosen what I'm capable of." The kaiser remarked, glancing at Daisuke. "Impressive, is it not? Much more impressive than any small war that was started when I was first here. I need to borrow the digimental of courage." He almost purred the words, Daisuke restraining from rolling his eyes too much at his self satisfied smirk.

"Sure," he said with a nod, handing over the D-terminal and shivering, seeing Wormmon follow along miserably. The kaiser strode forth, the hangar doors opening. The kaiser and Daisuke stood atop an Airdramon, the kaiser directing them towards a TV that he had specifically saved to be his closest access point to the human world. He opened up the gate, sending Mugendramon and his army through first before sending himself and Daisuke through, the digimon already descending on the game.

"Wormmon, armour evolution," the kaiser said, almost coldly as he held the D-terminal in his hands. Daisuke blinked, watching the air around Wormmon shiver, seeing a digimon that he didn't recognize. "Shadramon," the kaiser said.

Shadramon blinked, looking from the kaiser to Daisuke. Daisuke felt himself shiver, V-mon pressing closer to his leg as Shadramon looked away, watching the battle before him unfold. Daisuke let out a slow breath as the Airdramon floated above the game, watching the chaos below. He glanced at V-mon, the digimon looking back at him in concern as he slowly shook his head.

"We will have our days, chosen children."

The words of the machine digimon sent chills down Daisuke's spine, another Airdramon appearing. The kaiser glanced at him, tilting a smile before stepping onto the other Airdramon.

"Don't disappoint me, Daisuke dear." He whispered, voice soft even with the chaos unfolding below them.

"You will cower before the might of our combined forces. We shall not be defeated again." Mugendramon responded, dropping onto the field with a large thunk. Several Guardromon and Mechanorimon paused in their attacks as Mugendramon appeared, backing away to clear the field. "But do not worry, we enjoy the game of cat and mice."

Daisuke shivered, the Airdramon drifting closer as he heard Yamato snarl, "We destroyed you!" even over the den of fighting. He could see the chosen argue amongst themselves, his gaze tracking Miyako as she fell through the air, knocked from Holsmon. He nudged the Airdramon down, catching her D-terminal and closing his eyes, whispering a hasty apology before ejecting the digimental of love and letting the D-terminal tumble through the air after her.

He could see the others talking back and forth, the Airdramon drifting backwards, V-mon not moving from his side. He glanced over the battle, calculating quickly that there was not going to be a win for either side. He watched the adults glance at each other, saw Takeru turn as a dinosaur digimon he didn't know was slammed against the stadium walls. Daisuke winced in sympathy, tucking the digimental into his pocket.

"Even here? One would think you would have the home advantage." The kaiser called, his voice echoing over the stadium. "But you're afraid of what has to be done."

"Why don't you show yourself?" Takeru demanded, his request followed by laughter. The fighting stilled, Mugendramon turning to look as an Aidramon dropped out of the sky, Shadramon hovering in view of its head. Daisuke gritted his teeth, watching one of the elder chosen's digimon get knocked out of the air like a fly as he commanded the Airdramon to begin the retreat, shaking his head in annoyance.

"Humans fear the digimon." The kaiser commented from his perch, Shadramon staring blankly ahead, unmoving. "Look at the destruction they could cause here." He gestured to the destroyed arena, Daisuke realizing quickly how much damage had been done.

"This isn't right," he said quietly. "We shouldn't be destroying-"

"They want to parade you around like you're something they can contain." The kaiser responded, venom in his voice. "But we can create a new world."

"Darkness will rule," Mugendramon said coldly. Daisuke shuddered, watched several of the digimon step in front of Mugendramon, taking the brunt of the attack and devolving one by one, the chosen running forward to help their partners. In the aftermath, the stadium was almost completely destroyed, the kaiser signaling for retreat before they could recover.

*****

The man paced around the center of the room, Daisuke tossing the digimental up and down that he had obtained, guilt still eating at him for having taken it and leaving her defenseless. "Is that really the way to deal with them?" He asked, catching the digimental before sitting up on the bed he had been laying on.

"What other way is there?" The kaiser asked, turning to look at Daisuke. "And where did you get that?" He asked, pointing at the digimental.

"I filched it from Miyako." Daisuke said with a small, helpless shrug. "I was curious. It's the digimental of love."

"I thought you didn't want to steal from them," the kaiser inquired.

"I changed my mind." Daisuke grumbled with a shrug. "Besides, I trust you."

"You were always the more sensible one." The kaiser said, walking up to Daisuke and resting a hand on his cheek. He smiled slowly, leaning over and kissing him gently. "Digimon are meant to fight."

"We're meant to rule over those that don't have them." Daisuke responded, shaking his head at the idea and wishing he could roll his eyes. He felt the urge to shove the kaiser away, wondering, briefly, what he was playing at with the actions he had taken today. "The others are trying to hide, to fit in where they don't belong...I don't want that." He glanced to where V-mon and Wormmon were sleeping in a pile of blankets, getting up and taking the kaiser's hand before spinning the other man in a circle.

Ken laughed, his eyes gleaming as Daisuke pulled him to a stop. "We don't have to have that." He promised gently. "Here, we can be who we want."

"Is it wrong to still want Takeru to join us?" Daisuke asked, offering Ken a side glance as the other paused, his laughing ceasing almost immediately.

"No," he said softly. "I hope that we can rectify the situation with Takeru, show him what the human world will wish to do to us. We don't belong there, anymore than digimon do. We have a place here, in the digital world."

Daisuke hummed in agreement, glancing towards their partners. "There's no reason to hide here," he said, pulling Ken onto the bed with him, a smile on on his face.

Ken laughed, his Ken slipping through the kaiser's hold for the first time in hours following the battle, leaning over and placing a kiss on Daisuke's forehead. He got up when he heard a knock, opening the door and glancing at the Pinochimon that was standing there.

"Piemon wants to talk to you." He said, scuffing at the ground with his foot.

"Yes, we'll be there in a moment." Ken said, his voice dropping to icy cold as the digimon nodded.

"He's not in a good mood," Pinochimon commented, leaving down the hallway quickly.

"When is he ever in a good mood?" Ken inquired to the empty hallway, shutting the door and turning to Daisuke.

"When he's destroying something." Daisuke said, getting off the bed and shaking his head. "We better not keep the clown waiting."

Ken rolled his eyes, pulling Daisuke into a kiss. "But I wasn't done with you yet." He teased.

"But digimon wait for no man." Daisuke responded, taking Ken's hand once he broke off the kiss, relieved but growing cold at the next words.

"We will have to get rid of them later, when they no longer serve a purpose." The kaiser decided, allowing Daisuke to guide him down the hall once they stepped out of the room, leaving their partner digimon behind.

Daisuke's gaze flicked to the kaiser, looking for any sign of the brief mention of his Ken that he had seen. He stepped forward, moving just slightly ahead of the kaiser.

"What are you doing?" The kaiser asked, rolling his eyes as Daisuke shrugged.

"Ya know, a little of this, a little of that." He glanced back at the kaiser, raising an eyebrow. "I'm doing what you need me to do, aren't I?"

"Of course," he said, voice almost icy. Daisuke shivered, watching as the kaiser adjusted his cape, his outfit that Daisuke found tacky. He saw him raise a fist, clearing his throat and knocking on the door before stepping through.

"Ah, the young kaiser." Piemon said, looking up from the tea cup he held in one hand. "I was hoping that you would be able to see me, though I did not expect you this quickly."

"I don't have much time for games," the kaiser said, voice snappish.

"Of course not," Piemon said, sipping his tea and setting it delicately on the saucer he was holding in his other hand. "I have listened to your offer and I believe that we are willing to take you up on it."

"Ah," the kaiser said, Daisuke glancing from him to the digimon that was sitting in mid air, floating though for all the world it looked like he was sitting in a chair. "And what can we expect from you?"

"Distractions, the chance to take down our enemies. They're young yet, not much experience, but they are learnly quickly, aren't they? I'm impressed and looking forward to the challenge. Especially if it means fighting against the Takaishi child once more. You were wise in bringing us back from the brink."

"I selected you due to your...unique history with them." The kaiser said, Daisuke's frown deepening as he listened to the conversation.

"It seems as if your friend here is in the dark." The dark master laughed, turning his gaze to Daisuke. "It is true that we were taken down by the original group of the chosen, sixteen of your human years ago. The youngest was only eight. He was so afraid back then. It was beautiful." He sighed, almost with a dramatic flare. "We were never truly destroyed. We were pushed aside, into what is known as the dark ocean. It is where he walks as well."

Daisuke saw Piemon's gaze flick to the kaiser, the man offering him an unamused glower. "The point?" He demanded.

"We four remember the chosen well." Piemon stated. "We know what it was like to fight them. We know that we can take them now. They are almost nothing, after all. They are weak, as they are. I look forward to seeing how much they will grow."

"Of course. Mugendramon has already proven helpful during the battle in the human world." The kaiser said, Piemon nodding along in agreement. "But, I have a specific task for you to do."

"And what is it that I can personally help you with?" Piemon inquired, voice peeking curiously.

"I want you to catch the cat digimon, belonging to the girl." The kaiser said, listening to Piemon hum his agreement before nodding.

"Ah Tailmon, once the right hand to Vamdemon," Piemon said casually, Daisuke frowning when he saw the kaiser's face twitch, the cold mask almost seeming to break. Piemon's grin widened, watching the kaiser. "Hiding in children now, are we?"

"I don't know what you mean." The kaiser said, his face once more unreadable. Daisuke let out a slow breath, shaking his head to clear it and decide that he could dissect what he saw at another time.

"Don't you worry my dear kaiser, your secret is safe with him." Piemon said with a wink. "I will do as you ask. I look forward to seeing the end results." He smiled, vanishing from the room with barely a move.

"What did he mean?" Daisuke asked with a frown, feeling the cold gaze of the kaiser on him.

"It is none of your concern." He informed Daisuke, walking past him and leaving Daisuke alone in the room. he walked over to the tea cup that had been left behind, picking up the piece of paper that was pinned under it.

_I would watch your back if I were you. He's bound to be testy._

He crumpled it into a ball, retrieving the cup before angrily hurling it at the wall, watching it smash, feeling helpless to do anything else other than return to his room, checking on the digimon to assure himself that the kaiser hadn't hurt them.

*****

Daisuke paced as he looked at what Piemon had returned with, his gaze darting to Tailmon hung in place. FlaWizarmon had left, nearly an hour ago, when Ken had realized what the kaiser had set up for the others. He had pleaded with the digimon, asking him to take the message in the couple of minutes he had been lucid, wanting to make sure that Piemon did not do too much damage, to stop him before someone got hurt.

Now, he could feel the kaiser's gaze on him once more, not bothering to comment on Wormmon's missing presence.

To him, it didn't matter. It was one digimon in a base full of them, though Daisuke was constantly on the lookout for him.

He looked over his shoulder and swallowed hard, feeling his D-terminal buzz. He flicked it open, looking at the message he had been blind copied on, feeling his stomach turn as he read the words in disbelief.

**To: Takaishi Takeru**  
**From: Ichijouji Ken**  
**BCC: Motomiya Daisuke**  
**Subject: Missing something?**

_Let the game of chess begin Takeru. If you admit defeat now, you'll get your friend's precious partner returned to you. But, if you want to continue this game, she'll become data. Let me know, hmm?_

_Lovingly,  
The Kaiser_

"Does this mean that my work here is done?" Piemon asked, sitting in the air, hovering near the digimon with a small smirk on his face.

"You have done wonderful." The kaiser said, looking up from his own D-terminal.

"Then I shall be on my way." Piemon gave a small bow, vanishing.

"I hate that guy," Daisuke commented, shoving his D-terminal in his pocket. He pulled it back out when he heard the new message tone, reading over the message in disgust.

**To: Ichijouji Ken**  
**From: Takaishi Takeru**  
**BCC: Motomiya Daisuke**  
**Subject: Re: Missing something?**

_Fuck you. Give Tailmon back._

The kaiser laughed, amused by the message. "They are more than certainly welcome to come and get her if they don't want to give up now." He mused, gaze settling on Daisuke. "What do you think they will do?"

"Surely they'll come after her." Daisuke responded. "Yagami and Tailmon have been partners for a long time. A bond like that is not something that is easily severed."

"Of course not," the kaiser mused. "Same for the pathetic child that lurks even now in the mind here." He tapped his head, giving Daisuke a grin that made him shudder. He glanced away, the kaiser laughing as he stepped up to the digimon bound and gagged, her eyes open and tracking their movements.

"You're not going to get away with taking over his fucking body you parasitic asshole!" Daisuke snarled, the kaiser arching one thin eyebrow.

"I'd be very careful," he advice in a low voice, "of your next words. They could spell danger for you, if you aren't."

"I hate you," Daisuke snarled.

"Then why stay?" The kaiser asked, opening his arms as if to embrace Daisuke. He opened his mouth to defend himself, the kaiser laughing. "You're soft, Daisuke dear." He said, watching as the words almost acted as a whip to Daisuke, the man gritting his teeth.

"Daisuke," V-mon warned, the digimon not far from his side, even when Ken was present.

"Maybe it would be better if Wormmon was the one to go." The kaiser said, almost cooing the words. Daisuke watched his gaze flick to the digimon in question, Wormmon by his side as well and staring in horror at the implications. He wasn’t sure when the digimon had shown up, but he was comforted by his presence.

"I dare you to try," Daisuke warned.

"Or what, you'll hurt me?" The kaiser asked. "You know where the door is at. You're more than welcome to leave at any time."

The men stared at each other, neither reacting as the intruder system alert began to ring throughout the base. The kaiser turned, looking across the room to the hallway he was sure that the others would come through.

"I suggest you act quickly Daisuke." He offered.

Daisuke swallowed, his gaze darting to Tailmon, feeling more than seeing her eyes on him. "V-mon, armour evolution." He said softly, selecting the digimental of love as he heard voices approach near the hallway, turning to look at them, though he and the kaiser were still in the shadows, unseen to the others.

He glanced up, seeing Wormmon’s look of exhaustion. The kaiser looked at him, holding up his D-terminal and quietly demanding the digimon armour evolve, Shadramon hovering by his side, an emotionless mask overtaking him.

"Tailmon!" 

Daisuke heard the cry, watching as Hikari ran towards her bound partner. He saw Takeru just behind her, rushing over while dodging stray attacks from the DarkTyranomon and Fantomon surrounding them.

"She's okay," 

He heard Takeru speak, saw him move to comfort Hikari, who stared with wide eyes filled of horror. He grimaced as the ringed digimon ceased to fight, the kaiser stepping forward, clapping. He took a step, following behind him, steps slow as Sethmon paced by his side.

"How nice of you to drop in." The kaiser cooed, his gaze flicking over the group. Daisuke licked his lips, watching Takeru step closer to Hikari, their gazes trained on Tailmon.

"You both know this is wrong." Takeru called, his gaze darting between Daisuke and the kaiser. "Using digimon like they're toys is wrong."

"I think you misunderstand what I am doing." The kaiser said as he cleared his throat.

"You have to hide who you are." Daisuke said, words hollow to his own ears. He could see Yamato inching towards him, hands curled into fists. Somewhere, he had stopped caring what the others thought, as long as he could protect Ken, it would be enough. "Is that really a way to live?"

"It's what we have to do." Takeru responded, strength in his words. "It's surviving."

"It's hiding!" The kaiser snarled, Takeru recoiling from his voice as Pegasmon swooped down, Sethmon moving to take on the other. "What good are we if we have to hide, Takeru?" He demanded.

"Would you rather throw the world into chaos, again?" Yamato demanded, his voice rising with the question. "People get hurt when digimon rampage throughout the human world. We've seen it, time and again. People die,"

"Yes, people die every day." The kaiser scoffed, voice chilly as he turned his gaze to Yamato. "Everyone dies someday, Yamato. It is only fate for them to die. We have the ability to rule. And yet, you would throw it all away for, what?"

"Stability," Takeru responded, hesitant even as he spoke. "We spent months wandering the digital world, not knowing what would happen. Living like that is no way to live."

"Shadramon," The kaiser gave a wave of his hand, the insect digimon appearing at his side without a sound. "Get rid of it." He said with a gesture, Takeru lurching forward as he grabbed hold of Hikari, his gaze darting to where Pegasmon was pinned to the ground by Sethmon. Daisuke moved to stop Shadramon, a cry unable to force itself out. He felt the kaiser bar his way, Daisuke glaring at him in anger and horror.

Shadramon nodded, turning its attention to the bound Tailmon, who was thrashing against the bonds. It shifted, turning and quietly attacking, the other chosen turning as their digimon surged forward to get in the path of Shadramon, through the DarkTyranomon blocking them. Takeru froze as the kaiser let out a bone chilling laugh, the attack of Indent Screw piercing through Tailmon's stomach.

Daisuke swallowed, feeling the scene seem to shift around him, details leaking into his brain that he hadn't understood before. Garurumon pouncing on a Fantomon, Birdramon swooping down to get away. Digmon moved, too slow across the space while another digimon sprung itself across. He tried to cry out, to catch anyone's attention as he saw the look on Takeru's face. He had seen it once before, when he woke to Takeru screaming from a nightmare, having run to his room.

It was a look of devastating loss, though Daisuke had never learned what had caused that nightmare. He swallowed, gaze darting to Pegasmon, Sethmon unwilling to attack without a direct order. Daisuke shook his head slowly, the kaiser's laugh still echoing through the room.

Daisuke turned away, Hikari's screams finally penetrating the silence that had cloaked him, muffling the room around him, mingling oddly with the laughter. He saw the data mingle in the air, the kaiser finally speaking again, bringing everyone's attention back to his arm.

"We are nothing in the end." The kaiser stated. Daisuke saw Patamon devolve, Sethmon rearing back to retreat. He swallowed, seeing Takeru's head snap to Hikari when she choked out his name in a whimper.

"Ta..keru?"

He turned to look at the kaiser, venom in his gaze, the man raising a hand and clutching at the goggles around his neck before he spoke.

"I hate you," he whispered, his other hand gripping his D-3. "What right do you have to kill someone's partner?" He demanded, shaking Hikari off and standing. He took several steps forward before he collapsed to his knees. "What right do you have for any of this?" He screamed.

Daisuke felt his throat tighten as he listened to the words, drawing back and feeling himself shake, the ringed digimon watching, waiting for word to attack once more.

"What right does anyone have to live?" The kaiser inquired, his voice sliced through the tension despite being nearly audible. Daisuke felt as if the strings to his body had been cut, his shoulders sagging as he registered the kaiser's words fully.

"Patamon-" Takeru's words were choked.

"Sethmon, that's enough." Daisuke's voice penetrated the fog around Takeru's mind and his head snapped up, Daisuke shuddering under the look that Takeru held in his eyes. It was like watching a wild beast under duress, unwilling to give up despite having nothing left.

"Evolve," he said, Daisuke shivering under the coldness of his voice.

"Takeru?" Daisuke whispered, unaware of the kaiser's gaze on him or even that his voice had reached out that far.

"What is that?" Miyako's voice this time, the kaiser no longer laughing as they watched Patamon evolved.

"Devimon," Yamato whispered, Daisuke hearing Takeru choke back his laughter, raising his gaze to look at him and the kaiser.

Daisuke could see how hard it was for Takeru to breathe as his gaze fell on his partner, the Devimon sweeping through the area as if the digimon before him were nothing but mere data. Daisuke snorted as the kaiser scrambled backwards, unprepared for the reaction that Takeru had taken. Daisuke took a step back, forced by the kaiser's movements. He glanced up, watching as Takeru dropped his D-3, his eyes lost.

"Takeru!" Yamato snapped, dragging his brother up and smacking him across the face. Takeru blinked, looking up at his brother in mute horror. "Damn it, Sora!" Yamato called, turning to her as the two digimon hurried their partners across to the tunnel they had entered through, Hikari staring wordlessly next to Takeru.

"Birdramon, evolve!" Sora cried, her voice catching as Birdramon evolved to Garudamon, taking her place next to WereGarurumon. They faced down the rampaging Devimon, Yamato moving to stand next to Sora. "What should we do?" She asked, her words almost lost over the noise of Devimon's attack.

Daisuke flinched, the video coming to mind of the Devimon attacking Takeru and Pegasmon, not even a full two weeks prior. He shook his head, the kaiser cursing under his breath as Shadramon and Sethmon backed away behind them, out of the way.

"He's rampaging," Yamato said, his voice reaching where Daisuke was watching, unwilling to leave them behind though the kaiser had taken another step back, uncertain.

"Then we...?" Sora asked, her voice soft.

"If we have to," Yamato agreed, louder than Sora's. "WereGarurumon, evolve!" He called, stepping to the side with Sora as Garudamon took an attack that knocked her back, MetalGarurumon lunging at Devimon.

"Cocytus Breath!" The wolf called, Garudamon following with crimson claw on the frozen digimon. Daisuke watched the shattering of ice, frozen in place, his hands curling to fists as he turned, wanting to take his anger out on the kaiser, though he was already walking past him.

Takeru turned his head mechanically to where the Kaiser now stood, the man beginning to clap slowly as he grinned.

"Two birds with one stone." He said softly, Gabumon and Piyomon returning to their partners' sides, exhausted by the events that had been put into place. "And digimon who can't fight."

"Let it go," Daisuke said, his words barely concealing his fury as he placed a restraining hand on the Kaiser's shoulder. "They're beaten."

"But of course," the Kaiser commented, turning his attention to Daisuke. He took the man's hand, placing a kiss on the palm of it. "You'll have to see your own way out." Daisuke felt disgusted, seeing the kaiser's grin as he looked up, meeting the man's gaze.

Takeru lifted the arm that Hikari wasn't clinging to, before he pressed his hand back to the ground, sobbing softly as he pulled Hikari to him, Daisuke glancing over the kaiser's shoulder and feeling the sickness well up in him.

"We need to get out of here." Yamato said, shaking Takeru's shoulder. "This is not the time for either of you to fall apart! Takeru!"

Daisuke was pulled away by the kaiser, their partners following them, devolving as they left the scene behind. He felt sick, and when he could, he pulled away from the kaiser, locking himself in the bathroom to try and scrub a layer of skin off, V-mon and Wormmon having followed him without comment.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying the crazy!

Daisuke leaned back, looking up at sky as he listened to Ken next to him talking in a low voice to Wormmon and V-mon. It was the thirteenth of August, early enough that it was cool in the shade, a lake before them. Daisuke had found it yesterday, travelling just to get out of the base and far away from the kaiser's knowing smirk.

He glanced up when he heard Ken laugh, relaxing at the sound. Ken had resurfaced that morning, and Daisuke had convinced him to leave the base as it drifted over territory that the kaiser was making a grab for, uncaring as to what the chosen did to the other lands that he had claimed.

"Daisuke?"

He turned at the sound of his name, smiling at Ken as he got up, walking over.

"What's up?" He asked, tipping his head and watching Ken.

"What's on your mind?" Ken asked, resting his hand on Daisuke's shoulder, forcing him to sit next to him. Their digimon exchanged a glance, wandering over to them and sitting down near them.

"Hmm," Daisuke considered the question, closing his eyes and lifting his face to the clouds. "We've seen what the digimon can do with the armour evolutions. We know that there are other evolution paths they can take. Maybe I'm thinking about what they can do as well."

"Ah," Ken frowned, his gaze staring across the lake, watching the water. It rippled, Ken tensing as MetalSeadramon surfaced. "What do you want?" He asked, his voice taking on the coldness of the Kaiser, though Daisuke knew it was his Ken facing down the dark master.

"I'm here to pass along a message." The digimon said, V-mon and Wormmon already standing, watching the dark masters, though Ken was sure that they would not be attacked.

"Then do it quickly." Ken said, voice biting back frustration at being interrupted with this when he was meant to spend time with Daisuke.

"They're coming," MetalSeadramon said simply before disappearing into the lake and away from them. Daisuke frowned, watching the water ripple before glancing at Ken, watching the confusion unfold over his face.

"Who's coming?" Daisuke asked.

"The demon lords," Ken said quietly. "I found several of the kaiser's notes, regarding what they would be willing to do with the other chosen. They're going to try and contain them, hold them in whatever they can while the kaiser...gathers energy for something."

"We'll stop him." Daisuke promised, moving to sit next to Ken. He wrapped an arm around his shoulder, drawing him in closely and letting out a slow breath. "There aren't any towers around, are there?"

"No," Ken said with a quick shake of his head.

"Hey V-mon, wanna try something?" Daisuke called. watching the digimon scramble over to him, a curious look in his eyes.

"Sure!" He said, bouncing up and down as Ken flicked his gaze to Wormmon, finding his D-3 already in his hand. "What are we gonna try?" He asked.

"An evolution," Daisuke said, gesturing towards Ken. He held up his D-3, Wormmon watching them curiously.

"We've seen what both you and Wormmon can do with the digimentals." Ken began, choosing his words with care. "I've been partners with Wormmon for a long time and he has an evolution called Stingmon, his adult form. You’ve seen it before,"

“Yeah, he was awesome!." V-mon grinned, Daisuke nodding in agreement. "I wanna try!" V-mon said, Daisuke grinning in response. Ken was already standing, Stingmon by his side. Daisuke took a breath to steady himself, holding the D-3 close to his chest and focusing on the feeling. He stepped back as V-mon evolved, XV-mon standing before him.

"Cool, I can fly!" XV-mon said, taking into the air with a laugh. Daisuke leaned back, watching the pair as Ken glanced at him, hesitation in his eyes.

Daisuke shook his head slowly, looking towards his digimon. "It's going to be okay Ken." He murmured.

"I don't believe you." Ken admitted, watching their digimon in the sky. "But, just keep telling me that, okay?"

"Will you eventually believe it?" Daisuke asked.

"Maybe," Ken said with a grin, Daisuke taking his hand and pulling him into a hug, pleased to have him there. They could face the darkness in the morning, and Daisuke felt the growing dread of it coming.

*****

Ken pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling the pounding headache that was forming. Distantly, he could hear someone talking as he slowly pushed himself up from his spot on the floor. His body ached, and he could taste bile in the back of his throat.

"Dai..suke?" He groaned, feeling a hand lightly graze his shoulder. Even the slight touch caused his body to ache in ways he could never have imagined.

"You're growing worse, aren't you?" Daisuke whispered, pulling Ken's hand away from his face and propping him up. "Ever since you..."

He nodded, letting himself lean against Daisuke. "So much pain," he whispered.

"You should go to a hospital." Daisuke murmured, feeling the heat that Ken was putting off. "You're sick,"

"Won't," Ken said, closing his eyes. "He's growing,"

"Ken..." Wormmon glanced at his partner, moving closer.

"Get away from me," The kaiser snapped, his voice growing cold as he shoved Daisuke away, glaring at the digimon. Daisuke rolled his eyes at the change, getting up and brushing his pants off.

He watched Ken get up, pressing a hand to the wall as he limped towards the desk, sitting down in the chair and turning to the monitors as he looked over the data. He began to click through the video feed, clicking his tongue as he replayed the fight with Takeru and Hikari.

"They'll be weak," he said softly.

"They have the others with them." Daisuke pointed out. "They can still evolve, even if it's limited by time."

"Then we have to inconvenience them while we set up the rest of it. The Dark Masters are nearly finished with their part of the plan and Lucemon claims the same of his group." The kaiser said, straightening his back and looking at the information on the screen.

"Still splitting the attack?" Daisuke asked, draping himself over the back of the chair, not understanding the information on the screen in the slightest.

"That is correct," he agreed. "They won't know what to do," he laughed softly, letting his gaze shift to Daisuke. "Do you regret it at all?" He asked.

"Regret it?" Daisuke frowned. "What is there to regret?"

"Leaving them," Ken commented. "You could have been with them, instead of joining me."

"I trust you," Daisuke responded. He leaned forward, letting a hand graze the kaiser's shoulder. "There is nowhere I would rather be than by your side."

"You think you can talk to the other one," he said, taking Daisuke's hand and turning in his seat, watching how he startled the man. "You think you can talk him out of the prison that was built around him. There's a wariness in your eyes every time you hear me." He leaned forward, resting his forehead against Daisuke's, staring into his eyes. "You tense, even now. You wonder if you made a terrible choice. But, really, there is no way for you to run now. If you were to run, I would have to kill you instead. You know too much."

"Is that what you think?" Daisuke asked, taking a small step back and tipping his head to the side. "That I believe there is any hope for him?"

"You're a terrible liar Daisuke," the kaiser informed him. "But I don't expect you to be perfect about it."

"I wasn't lying, I was asking a question." Daisuke responded. The two looked up when they heard something clatter to the floor, V-mon jumping away from the item that had fallen. He glanced at the two humans, ducking out of the way before either could say anything.

"You state your lies into questions," the kaiser responded, turning his attention back to the monitors. "But, if you're willing to stay, it proves something at least."

"Oh?" Daisuke asked with a raised eyebrow. "And what does it prove, exactly?"

"That you're willing to try." The kaiser laughed, leaning over and kissing Daisuke. "And that you're a fool for being willing to try."

There was a pause, the kaiser turning to look at Daisuke.

“Get rid of it,” he suggested.

Daisuke frowned, staring at him. “Rid of what?” He asked.

“The digimental of courage, what else?” His tone was one of exhasperation, the kaiser rolling his eyes. “I don’t have to spell everything out for you, now do I?”

“No,” Daisuke sighed as he turned and walked out of the room, shaking his head as the kaiser's words echoed in his head, Wormmon and V-mon following close behind.

"What are we gonna do?" The digimon asked, Daisuke glancing at them as he walked out of the base, aimless for the moment.

"Well, we're going to give the digimental back to Takeru." He said finally, watching Wormmon's antenna droop.

"I liked being FlaWizarmon." He said softly. "I was helping,"

"I'm sorry buddy," Daisuke said, voice gentle as he stopped, kneeling down in front of him. "Don't think I could argue with him on this one."

"You won't have to be Shadramon again." V-mon offered, Daisuke almost flinching under the weight of the words, but setting his resolve to not move in front of Wormmon. The small digimon bowed his head, considering the words before he nodded in agreement.

"Why don't we release the digimon when I get back?" Daisuke suggested, glancing between V-mon and Wormmon, the two digimon frowning at him. "The digimon from the base, it would serve the kaiser right for being such a fucking prick."

"You're going to get yourself in trouble." Wormmon said quietly, Daisuke slowly shaking his head.

"So, I get into trouble, it won't matter much." He said, shrugging.

"And when he starts hurting you?" Wormmon asked, Daisuke frowning at the thought before he shook his head.

"I can take a few hits, it won't matter. Because it's not Ken that's doing it. I will fight to get him back." Daisuke promised, moving his arms out to them. Wormmon moved forward, jumping up in his one arm while V-mon took the other, both digimon looking at each other. "What matters is that we're together and I'll protect you." Daisuke promised.

"We won't hurt you with us around." V-mon promised, Daisuke nodding. He turned, aiming his digivice at the TV screen. The trio stumbled into Ken's apartment, Daisuke blinking as he looked around. It was night, though he hadn't been expecting it. It had been more day than night in the digital world and his sense of time was off.

Chibimon looked around the apartment, Wormmon seeming to press into Daisuke as he moved with purpose, picking up Ken's car keys and heading down the stairs. He didn't care if it would look weird that he would suddenly appear, after several days of silence from both him and Ken. It was late, but not late enough that there was no one around.

The drive to his apartment was silent, Daisuke chewing on a nail as he thought. He pulled into the complex, glancing at the digimon and considering the options.

"You two okay with staying here real quick?" He asked, feeling the weight of the digimental of courage-his own digimental-in his pocket.

"We'll be okay," Chibimon said, pressed close to Wormmon, the pair using each other for comfort. He got out of the car, pulling his key from his pocket and running up the three flights of stairs. He frowned when his key didn't work, tossing it away and running back down the stairs to the twenty four hour handyman.

The man looked disgruntled but, upon seeing that it was Daisuke, merely sighed and got him a spare key. Daisuke gave him an apologetic smile, offering him a sorry and taking the key, heading back up the three flights of stairs and unlocking the door.

"I can't believe he changed the locks on me." Daisuke grumbled under his breath, stopping short when he actually thought about it. He looked around the apartment, catching sight of the couch-he could see why Takeru wanted to burn it. He wouldn't mind setting it on fire himself, if it would get Takeru to laugh with him again. He stopped, finding a scrap piece of paper and hastily scribbling a note, setting the digimental of courage on top of the table, note pinned underneath.

He glanced over the room, trudging into his old room and wincing. It was bare, though he shouldn't be surprised. The kaiser had laughed at him when they found all of his shit in the digital world. The only thing Daisuke having cared about having been his recipe book. That had been in a plastic bag, like Takeru didn't want it getting ruined.

He set up one last note, turning and walking out of the apartment, placing the key in his pocket. He headed back down to the car, driving back to Ken's and then returning to the digital world, blinking when he realized that it was night, true night, when he arrived back. The walk to the base was quiet, the two digimon held in his arms.

Daisuke frowned when he saw the closed door to Ken's personal study, staring in horror when he saw him collapsed over the desk.

*****

_Ken curled his fingers in his hair, his eyes screwed shut as he listened to the screams of pain around him. Before him lay the world, buildings toppled, digimon running amuck. He shuddered, trying to rip hair from his scalp as he took in the destruction before him._

_"This is not-" he whispered, freezing when he heard the laughter._

_"This isn't what?" The voice whispered, stooping to grab Ken's chin and force him to look up. "This is what you created, what you wanted, all those years ago." They whispered, cold eyes boring into his own._

_"I never wanted-" Ken swallowed the words he wanted to scream at the figure in front of him. His hands dropping to his side when he met the gaze in front of him._

_"You could have stayed away," the voice sang, soft as the figure kneeled down, offering Ken a hand and dropping his chin in the process. "You could have refused the call."_

_Ken swallowed, meeting his reflection's gaze. The reflection had donned the guise of the Kaiser, with the goggles pulled back so he could see the insanity in his eyes. "No," he whispered with a shake of his head. "That's not-"_

_"I am apart of you Ken," the kaiser murmured, pulling Ken into a mocking embrace. "If this is not what you wanted, I would not be here, isn't that so?"_

_"You're chained," Ken whispered, closing his eyes so he didn't have to see himself any more. He felt the hand touch his cheek, causing Ken to look at the Kaiser once more._

_"The chains broke," he whispered. "Everything that you and the others fought for..." He shivered as the reflection's fingers ran down his face, tracing the tears that fell. "We're still here. Data never gets destroyed."_

_"No," Ken whispered, feeling himself fall into the kaiser's embrace as he was pulled forward. He swallowed hard, his body tense as the Kaiser hugged him tightly._

_"They don't care for you. It is only us," the kaiser murmured softly, stroking Ken's hair. "I am the only thing that can hold you up. I can make you whole again Ken. We can rule, together.”_

_"Not again,” Ken groaned, shoulders slumping as he fell into his reflection. He could feel the emotions surround him and pull him down, drowning him._

Ken looked at the wall before him, pressing a hand to his head. It ached more often, when he was conscious to do what he could. Most days passed by without notice, the glimpses of the world growing dimmer and longer between each moment. He turned when he heard footsteps, closing his eyes and focusing.

His hands trembled as the footsteps stopped outside the door, the door sliding open and shut before Ken reopened his eyes, looking at Daisuke with a small frown.

"Why are you still here?" He asked.

"Why shouldn't I be? You want me here, I know that Ken." Daisuke stated, crossing his arms, their partners still standing by the door. "What would you do if I weren't here?"

"I don't..." Ken frowned, watching as Daisuke walked over and knelt before him. "It's quiet," he murmured.

"That's because the base is empty, per your orders." Daisuke said, taking Ken's hands and holding them close. "Are you sure there is no other way you can do this? That we can do this?"

"I don't know what you mean." Ken responded, tempted to pull his hands away.

"You're losing yourself." Daisuke responded. "There is little of you left, I'm afraid you're going to be gone one day."

"It was this way before and you know it. But I fought my way out." Ken murmured. "Two years of my life, vanished like nothing really mattered. I suppose it didn't, in the end."

"You matter, I don't want you to disappear Ken." Daisuke responded. "There has to be some other way-"

"Even if he is completely in control, I still love you. You know what I have asked you." Ken responded, voice firm. "We have to let the others know, maybe send a message with Fla-"

"FlaWizarmon can't help us anymore." Daisuke cut in.

"What?" Ken frowned, caught off guard.

"He got rid of the digimental of courage. While he gave his enemies another weapon, he took an important one out of our own." Daisuke responded, voice growing sharp. "I'm worried for you Ken."

"I'm worried as well," V-mon said, looking from around Daisuke's leg. Ken smiled sadly at the small digimon, his gaze darting to where Wormmon was behind V-mon.

"I want my Ken back," the digimon agreed, voice soft with sadness.

"It's only for a little while more, I'm sorry." Ken promised, closing his eyes. He felt Daisuke's arms wrap around him, the man sighing softly.

"You're killing yourself." He said, finally releasing Ken several minutes later.

"Yes," Ken agreed.

"Is there anything...?" Daisuke asked, Ken shaking his head sharply.

"I told you before what had to happen." He whispered, taking Daisuke's hands in his own. "I wish...I wish there was another way Daisuke. I do not want to place the burden on anyone's shoulders."

"I know," Daisuke mumbled, bowing his head. "I know,"

"I will see if I can..." Ken frowned, dropping Daisuke's hands and pressing one of his own to his forehead, wincing. "I'm sorry,"

Daisuke took a step back, watching Ken's features shift, the man looking at him with an unimpressed scoff. "I'm surprised you're still here Daisuke dear," he nearly purred, moving to stand.

"Why shouldn't I be here?" Daisuke asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a step back. He watched the Kaiser waver, taking a step forward to steady himself.

"Because he's going to die." The Kaiser said, turning and stalking out of the room, Daisuke moving to save Wormmon from an incoming kick.

"We'll get him back," Daisuke promised the digimon, V-mon peeking around his leg as the Kaiser barked orders left and right.

Daisuke left, heading down to the lower levels and setting on clearing out, saving who he could. He wasn't surprised when he returned to his and Ken's shared room, seeing their phones gone. He sighed, shaking his head and began the process of finding himself, though it wasn't until much later that Ken returned, exhausted, and collapsed into bed.

*****

"Ken, this isn't a great idea," Daisuke cautioned, glancing over his shoulder as the pair headed towards the beach. He saw Ken grit his teeth, the man stubbornly shaking his head as he turned to daisuke, arching an eyebrow. He had woken up with the idea that he had to do something, though he hadn't told Daisuke what it was exactly that he had to do.

"If you think this is such a terrible idea, why are you coming with me?" He inquired, voice soft.

Daisuke hesitated, dropping his gaze and letting out a sigh, V-mon looking up to his partner from where he was walking. He cast about for something he could talk about, using the one that he knew would be the hardest to talk about.

"You're going to die," he said quietly, Ken nodding slowly.

"This morning," Ken guessed, Daisuke's gaze flicking to him. "He got rid of the digimental, I know that much Daisuke. I...there is something they need if they are to continue going forward."

"Kindness," Daisuke said quietly.

"Even the most hurt people can use kindness in their lives." Ken agreed, pausing to look at him. "I need to do this, even if it is for them."

"Why does it have to be you?" Daisuke demanded, taking a step forward as Ken shook his head slowly. His hands moved, touching the back of his neck as he tipped his head forward.

"You know why," he said softly, pulling his hand away. "You know why it has to be this way. There is no other way it can be Daisuke."

Daisuke twitched, meeting Ken's gaze as they stopped, a shack visible in the distance. "They shouldn't have," he said softly.

"But it happened," Ken said with a small shrug. "I've made my peace with it. There's a sort of...kindness or peace, knowing what will happen, how it'll end."

"Of course," Daisuke said. He let Ken go, walk into the shack that Hikari and Miyako were in. Ken glanced around, his gaze resting on Hikari before he sighed,

"Not so fast."

"What do you want Ken?" Hikari demanded, Ken watching as she clenched her hands at her side, her jaw set though she had been startled by his appearance.

"I was wondering if you were going to notice." He said, his gaze sliding around the shack. Miyako tilted her head, narrowing her eyes as she glared at him.

"Notice that you're an obnoxious prick?" She demanded, taking a step forward. "Whatever it is your planning, it's going to end here!" She warned.

"Oh no, no, by far is it going to end from here." Ken said with a shake of his head, certain in his words. "If it ended here, so much would be left out to worry about later. But, for now, you do have something to worry about." He flicked his hands, Hikari taking a step back reflexively as he moved forward, towards the pedestal. "You're here alone." He pointed out, voice soft.

"We're never alone," Hikari snarled, lifting her chin up.

"Think what you want." Ken said, walking towards the digimental and taking it off the stand with ease. He studied it for several moments before he began talking once more. "But, is this really the only thing you came here for?"

Ken glanced towards the entrance of the shack when he heard Mimi's cry, stepping to the side as Miyako surged into the shack. He shook his head as she stumbled, trying to stop and catch her balance at the same time.

"What is it that you want?" She demanded, Ken listening to the fire in her voice. He could see the similarities between her and Taichi, a small part of his mind having wished she had been the one that they were fighting, rather than a team that was nearly shattered led by Takeru.

"Freedom," Ken said, using the single most simple truth he had, tossing the digimental up and down, catching it each time with ease. "Though, I doubt you noticed the lack of dark towers in the area. Phase one of the plan has already been completed. We're onto phase two now. I doubt anything you do can stop me now." He glanced at the now still digimental in his hand, before he tossed it at Miyako. She reached up, catching it with a frown, her gaze darting between him and the digimental in bewilderment.

"Wait!" Hikari called, reaching out as Ken began to walk away. He glanced over his shoulder, frowning as he stopped.

"What?" He asked in annoyance.

"Why...help us?" She asked, hesitation clear to Ken. "If you want to rule everything-"

"I'm not helping you. I'm giving you a tool in the fight that you think you have it in you to win. Honestly, it's fun to watch you pathetic insects run around like mad. Just like before, in order to get nowhere." Ken said with a smirk, feeling the kaiser start to rear its head as Ken used his tone of voice. "It's not about helping you, it's about entertaining myself while I work. What point is doing any of this if I don't have fun while I do it?"

"You're a monster," Miyako ground out, her teeth clenched. She glanced at the digimental in her hand, scoffing at the situation. "Kindness,” she snorted, “as if you were ever capable of kindness."

Ken gritted his teeth, closing his eyes briefly as he considered the words before he opened them, the response already coming to him.

"There are lot of things that you don't understand Inoue. But, I suppose that's what makes you...you and me, well me a genius." Ken rolled his eyes, Hikari letting out a sigh.

"I can figure out how you got to where you are." She said, feeling her jaw twitch. "But what I really don't understand is how you convinced Daisuke to join you."

"It's easy to get an idiot like him to do what you want," Ken said with a roll of his eyes. He lifted a hand, pushing his hair back as he considered Hikari. "But, I am always welcoming more people to the side of right."

"There's no place for you here." Hikari said, voice growing cold. "Nothing that you can do or say-"

"Hikari!"

Ken hesitated when he saw Miyako shove Hikari out of the way. He shook his head, grimacing at the tusk that had cut her arm. He saw Hikari glare, looking at where Sethmon had emerged before her harden gaze returned to Ken. Ken shifted, feeling his shoulder touch Daisuke's and he glanced at him from the corner of his eye, head tilted ever so slightly in confusion.

"Damn, that missed the mark." Daisuke said idly from his spot. "Come on, Anomalocarimon has been defeated. We should get out of here."

"I hate you," Hikari growled, watching as Daisuke waved his hand without a care.

"Hate me if you want, I know what I'm doing." He said. "Besides, this is something I have to do."

"No, it's not." Miyako whispered, her hand clasped over the cut in her arm. "Both of you didn't have to do any of this."

"There is more at play than either of you could understand. Pathetic, really, that you can’t see all the pieces at hand." Ken commented, glancing at them coldly.

"My statement still stands, Anomalocarimon is defeated. The other two are coming this way soon. If you want to keep messing around with them, send in Mummymon or Archnemon to deal with them. I'm sure they're growing bored by this point." Daisuke commented, rolling his eyes as Ken snorted at the suggestion of either of them growing bored. "It would give Archnemon more chances to figure out her abilities, rather than this one time. Come on now." He tugged at Ken's wrist, the man scoffing.

"This isn't over." He told the two, Sethmon turning at Daisuke's command and leaving the shack.

Daisuke hesitated as they walked away, Ken stopping when he felt they were far enough.

"What was that?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"I was worried that they were going to hurt you. It's not like you brought Wormmon. What were you thinking?" Daisuke asked, concern laced through his words as Ken stared at him, opening his mouth to consider his question.

"I wasn't," he admitted.

"Kindness, huh?" Daisuke asked, reaching forward and taking his hand, intertwining their fingers together.

"Yeah," Ken said with a laugh. "It's...terrible, but I still feel like I could be kind, if I just had the ability to shake myself free the shadow."

"Why don't we have a nice dinner?" Daisuke suggested, glancing up at the sky. "Or lunch, not sure what time it is. I want to spend what time I have with you, before it's gone."

"Of course," Ken said softly, Sethmon devolving into V-mon, the digimon looking ashamed.

"I'm sorry for hurting her," he mumbled.

"She got in your way, you weren't aiming to hurt either of them." Daisuke said with a frown, a hardness entering his eyes before he pushed it back, letting out a sigh.

"Are you mad?" The digimon asked.

"No, of course not." Daisuke promised, turning to his partner and offering him a hand to come up. "You did what I asked, they got in the way. It's not your fault."

He nodded, scrampering up Daisuke's arm and resting on his shoulder. "Thank you," he murmured, Daisuke using his free hand to secure V-mon in place, Ken watching them with a sort of pride in his eyes, hopeful that Daisuke would never change.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, Daisuke _really_ hates that plan!

Daisuke sat up in bed as he heard the D-terminal ping with a new message. He reached over the sleeping body of Ken and their two digmon, picking it up and bringing as close to his face as he dared, not wanting to disturb them with the light.

"Takeru?" He asked the empty room with a frown, rubbing at an eye to make sure that he was seeing things correctly. He selected the message, confused by the subject line before he read it, his heart seeming to skip a beat as he saw what the message contained.

**To: Motomiya Daisuke**  
**From: Takaishi Takeru**  
**Subject: Can we meet?**

_I had a...dream, if you want to call it that. I was told that you know something. What, I don't know but... I want answers and if you're the one to give them, that would be good. I'll be at the small cafe near the apartment between eight am and noon today. Let me know if you're coming. Even if I don't get an answer to this message, I'll be there._

He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he considered his options, looking over at the sleeping Ken before he set the D-terminal back on the side table. He saw V-mon move, the digimon looking up at him with curious eyes.

"Everything okay?" He asked, Daisuke chuckling as the digimon yawned.

"Yeah, I may be going out later in the morning. Do you think you could keep an eye on Ken and Wormmon for me?" Daisuke asked, the digimon nodding.

"Where are you going?" He asked through a yawn.

"I have someone I need to talk to." Daisuke explained, glancing over at Ken. He reached out, touching the fevered skin of his forehead.

"Is it Takeru?" V-mon asked, meeting Daisuke's gaze.

"Yeah," he said with a nod and a grimace. "Don't know if I really want to go though." The digimon nodded, burying himself back into the sheets next to Wormmon. Daisuke sighed, pushing his hair out of his face as he considered the options, weighing the pros and cons before settling back down, deciding that it would be worked out later, when he was more awake.

*****

Daisuke leaned against a lamp post, watching Takeru work on his computer on the little cafe. He grimaced, hearing the nagging voice still weighing out the pros and cons as he stood there, glancing down at his phone that had recently been returned. He reminded himself that it wasn't even Ken that had woken up that morning, but the Kaiser. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and walking into the cafe, smiling at the person behind the counter.

She smiled back, Daisuke walking over to Takeru's table and dropping into the seat, exhausted in a way he didn't understand. "Hey," he called, Takeru looking up at him, surprised that he had shown up.

"Hi," Takeru said, pushing the pastry over to him. "So..." He trailed off, Daisuke letting out a mental sigh. Nothing about this conversation was going to be fun, per say, but already he could feel the awkward tension creeping into the air. He grimaced to himself, remembering exactly what had happened last time they were alone. “How are you?” Takeru asked, seeming unsure of where to bring the conversation.

"What was the email about?" Daisuke asked as he took the pastry that was pushed towards him. He elected to ignore Takeru’s question, breaking off a piece and eating it as he waited for him to continue. He sighed when the silence grew too long for his taste, frowning. “I didn’t come all the way here to sit here in silence and watch you stare at your laptop. What do you want Takeru?” He asked, trying to keep the sharpness out of his voice.

"I was...I don't know, honestly." Takeru sighed, fiddling with his laptop before shutting it. "I was told that you...knew."

"Knew what?" Daisuke asked with a raised eyebrow, a small glow of amusement spreading in his chest. “I know a lot of things, but a vague statement saying I know doesn’t help.”

"Well, I don't know what you know, which is why I'm asking you what you know?" Takeru said, mouth pulling into a frown as he concentrated.

"Say that ten times fast," Daisuke suggested with a roll of his eyes, Takeru crossing his arms over his chest with a glare.

"Look, the dream wasn't clear, just that Ken said-" Takeru began, Daisuke's attention focusing wholly on him.

"Ken?" Daisuke asked, leaning forward and pushing the half eaten pastry to the side. "Are you telling me that you saw Ken in a dream and he told you I knew?" He scoffed at the idea, watching Takeru intently.

"Yes," Takeru said with a nod. "He was coughing up blood, or bleeding-honestly it was hard to tell in general. It was hard to say exactly what he had been trying to get across. But... I'm worried about him, and you, but yes it was a dream. I said that much in my email, didn’t I?”

“What did this place look like?” Daisuke asked, watching Takeru squirm under his gaze before he finally began to talk once more.

“It was a place of grayness and hopelessness. I've seen the dark ocean, and it was something else entirely." Takeru explained, hesitant. “I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s..it’s a place of great darkness.”

"A dark place, huh?" Daisuke said thoughtfully, recalling some of the half whispered nightmares that Ken would tell him.

"Have you heard of anything like it?" Takeru asked.

"Maybe but why do you want to know?" Daisuke asked, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter much to me either way, but...” He shrugged, watching Takeru grow nervous and fiddle with the napkin in front of him.

"I'm worried," Takeru repeated finally, his voice hard to make out.

"Why should you be worried?" Daisuke leaned back, rolling his eyes. "It's not like you care or anything." He bit back the words, guilt spreading in his stomach. He knew that Takeru would care about Ken and him, knew that he did... His thoughts were derailed by Takeru's next statement.

"I mean, he is hellbent on taking over the digital and human world. But do you honestly think I don't care about him?" Takeru demanded, his voice raising. Several other patrons glanced their way, Takeru lowering his voice as he stared at Daisuke. "I care about him, more than I should." He muttered, his gaze full of anger at the young man.

"First, know one thing before we even begin to discuss this. It's the Kaiser that wants to take over the worlds, not Ken. There's a difference." Daisuke said, his words coming out one by one, bitterness laced in each.

"What's the difference?" Takeru demanded, eyes narrowed. Daisuke saw his fingers twitched, wondering if he should have brought V-mon to ensure that it didn't degrade into a fight.

"It was a while ago that he first told me about it." Daisuke said suddenly, his voice growing somber as he stared past Takeru towards the street, having been unwilling to sit with his back towards a door. "He told me about the hell of losing two years of his life. He had found something that made him excited. He called it the digital world, the same digital world you and the other children found, but...something happened. Ken didn't get the happy ending that you and everyone else did. He had found it when he was a kid too, but after his brother died, he didn't want to go back. He was a lot older when he did go back. Something happened though... While there, he lost control of himself. Something else was puppeting his body, controlling his actions.

"He spent two years, trapped in his own mind. When he broke free, things were different. When he returned home, it was to crying parents because for the past year and a half, they thought him dead. See, Ken had disappeared, just like you asked...was that only two weeks ago we had that conversation?” He sighed as Takeru nodded, both the young men falling to silence as the words weighed over them.

“What happened next?” Takeru asked, voice gentle as he tried to pry the rest of the story out of Daisuke. Daisuke shook his head, letting out a sigh and leaning back in the chair.

“You have to understand, what Ken remembers of being gone was being trapped in his own head. With no way out. Until he was suddenly free and everything was so much different. He lost two years, he had disappeared for a year and a half from the human world completely. But, he put it aside, worked to get better..." Daisuke frowned, considering his words with care. There was weakness in those actions that Ken never wanted anyone to know. Daisuke, for all he understood, felt pain at even telling Takeru of the faintest hint of possible weakness.

"You knew?" Takeru asked, Daisuke glancing down as he saw Takeru's fingers twitch, recalling the actions when his roommate would want to write but couldn't.

"I'm only going to say this once, if you want to write it down, be my guest. Then I'm leaving." He waved his hand, waiting for Takeru to be ready to take notes and letting him type down what he already had heard. He took the time to organize his own thoughts, getting them into order and considering what there would be to tell him.

“I’m ready when you are.” Takeru said after several minutes, Daisuke silently impressed with his typing speed.

"Sure, I knew what Ken told me. It wasn't a lot that he could recall, of course. And...Over the last couple of years, he knew it was starting to get worse again. He was having moments where he couldn't recall anything. There were also times where he would disappear on me, emotionally. He would become cold, distant...but he was still himself, most of the time. Sometimes, even now, he can surface from whatever darkness is controlling him. He tried helping you, as long as he could." Daisuke admitted, seeming defeated as he talked.

“So, the digimon....” Takeru frowned, not quite pressing but still asking.

“I had met Wormmon the same day he told me everything. Wormmon helped convince me. I knew, and he knew what Patamon was, but we didn’t know how to tell you, so we went along with it? I mean, he doesn’t remember his stint fighting with you. The Kaiser is not him. Ken wants to help you. I mean, look at what happened with FlaWizarmon.” Daisuke said, struggling to keep his voice under control as he stared out the window, unable to meet Takeru’s gaze.

"FlaWizarmon," Takeru murmured, Daisuke's gaze returning to him for the first time in several minutes.

"Yeah, that was what the good evolution of courage for Wormmon is. I suppose you could have call Shadramon the...dark evolution? It's still a viable evolution, but more aligning to evil than good. The Kaiser was the one to evolve Wormmon to Shadramon, Ken was the one that was able to evolve Wormmon to FlaWizarmon." Daisuke spoke with confidence, his gaze almost seeming to pierce through Takeru.

"Why join him then?" Takeru asked suddenly, Daisuke caught off guard. He didn't want to talk about that, not yet. “If you knew all of this, why didn’t you just ask for our help?”

"I..." Daisuke sighed, dropping his gaze to the table. "There may be something that I can do to stop whatever darkness that is taking over Ken. I promised him that I would do it. I'm not sure when that time will come, or how, or where. What...better way than to be beside him the entire time? I can keep a better eye on him. You're busy with Koushiro disappearing, the dark masters, and whatever the demon lords are planning..."

"What can we do to help?" Takeru asked, interrupting him. "Who are the demon lords? And...what...happened to Koushiro?"

"You really are out of touch with the rest of your team if you don’t know what’s going on.” Daisuke snorted, almost amused by how focused Takeru had become on the matter at hand. He wondered if his betrayal had anything to do with it as well. “I'm only here to talk about Ken. I couldn't care less about the rest of it. That's your problem to deal with. The kaiser is my problem and there is nothing that you or any of the others can do." Daisuke said, his annoyance at Takeru's unwillingness to see the others leaking through his words. "Look, I've already taken too much time... I should get back." He said suddenly, worried about Wormmon and V-mon.

"What is it that you're so certain that you have to do?" Takeru demanded, voice low as to not disturb the other patrons that had already giving them strange looks. "And, can't you help me, with the other stuff?"

Daisuke cocked a smile, arching an eyebrow and leaning back. "Do you really want to know? And no, I will only tell you what I know about Ken. He’s the reason why I’m here after all." He commented with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes," Takeru pressed.

"He..." Daisuke slumped his shoulders, the smile disappearing and his gaze dropping to the table once more. He heaved a sigh, running a hand through his hair before offering Takeru a dry laugh. He felt numb to the idea, after all of this time. It was something he had to do, but he would distance himself from it for as long as he could, and he would drink himself to death afterwards, if that's what it took to forget. "He asked me to kill him."

"Kill...him?" Takeru questioned, watching as Daisuke pulled out his D-terminal, checking his emails though he knew there would be nothing there because he was unable to meet Takeru’s gaze.

"Look, I already spent more than enough time talking to you about this. I told you what I know. If you were expecting something different, then I can't help you. Sorry." Daisuke said, glancing at the time and shaking his head.

"No, wait-" Takeru stood up, reaching over and grasping Daisuke's wrist.

"What?" He asked, his tone one of impatience as he tried to keep from hurting Takeru as well. "I told you what you wanted to know."

"It doesn't have to end with you killing him." Takeru pressed, struggling to keep his voice low. "There has to be some way-"

"He fought it off for years. There's only one way it ends now and that's to end his life. Do I look like I want to do that to the man I love?" Daisuke demanded, yanking his wrist from Takeru's grasp and ignoring the sting of pain in his chest at the hurt expression that had crossed Takeru's face. "There's nothing left but to give in sometimes Takeru. Even you know that."

"Give in?" Takeru asked quietly, lifting his gaze up. "When have I ever gave in? This is different besides, you're talking about ending someone's life!"

"If that's the path I must take, then I shall do it, if only so Ken doesn't have to face more years of darkness and uncertainty." Daisuke said coldly. He held up his D-terminal, a message flashing by too quickly for Takeru to read. "I have to go anyway. I told you what I know, please just...leave it at that." He whispered.

"We can help you." Takeru tried, Daisuke impressed with the note of pleading in his voice.

"No, I don't think you can." Daisuke said, turning and walking out of the cafe. He hurried back to Ken's apartment, throwing open a gate and stepping through, his eyes already glued to the D-terminal and the message that V-mon had sent, though it was mostly misspelled and hard to follow.

He hurried into the base, stopping as he saw the ringed digimon turn to look at him, their gazes blank. He dragged his gaze up, meeting the Kaiser's glare.

"I had to track down more digimon." He said as the whip uncoiled at his side. "Do you know anything about that?"

Daisuke tipped his head to the side, scratching the back of it. "Don't think I can," he said. His gaze darted to the whip, taking a step back. "What are you doing?"

"There are video feeds." The kaiser responded, the whip cracking across the space. Daisuke stumbled as the whip caught his arm, the end slicing through the skin. He moved his hand up, pressing it to the cut. "You are not to interfere with my work. I will...tolerate your presence here, if only to keep him quiet. You-"

Daisuke swallowed hard, gaze flicking to the side as he searched for Wormmon and V-mon.

"They're not here." The kaiser snapped. Daisuke looked up at him, nodding.

"Good," he said finally.

"You're hopeless." The kaiser decided, turning away. "Do not think that you can get away with this. If I find out you're meddling again, it will be _much_ worse. Go check on the towers, do something useful for once. And if you find the useless worm, send him to me. Evolved if possible,"

Daisuke watched him walk away, rolling his whip up as he did so. He hurried to their room, finding Wormmon and V-mon both in here. He fell to his knees, scooping both of the digimon into his arms.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I didn't think..."

"It's okay," V-mon said, snuggling against his chest. "You're back now, that's good enough for me."

"Are you two okay?" He asked.

"We're fine," Wormmon said, moving to look at Daisuke's arm. "You're bleeding."

Daisuke glanced down, shaking his head. "I'll be okay, it doesn't matter. I'm much more worried about him hurting either of you."

"Okay," V-mon said, voice tinted with sadness. "What were you doing?"

"I saw Takeru," Daisuke said, closing his eyes. "We had a talk. I don't know what will come of it, but hopefully he understands what will have to happen."

"Do you think he will?" Wormmon asked.

"I don't know," Daisuke admitted, setting both digimon down. "I have to go do something like babysit towers. Wormmon, I'm sorry...do you mind me using the digimental on you?" He asked, already pulling out his D-terminal. He saw Wormmon's look of sadness, grimacing. The small worm nodded anyway, Daisuke taking a breath and focusing as he held Ken's D-3.

He recalled the first time he had evolved Wormmon using the digimental of courage. An accident, to be sure. He had grabbed the wrong D-3, though Ken looked excited to see the results. He selected the digimental of love, watching the light, Owlmon hovering before him.

"The kaiser wants you." He said, the digimon turning and disappearing down the hallway.

*****

The kaiser shifted his stance, his gaze trailing through the sky before he spotted the target. He watched Pegasmon for several minutes, commanding the Airdramon to move when he heard the cry of an attack.

"Have you come to play?" He inquired, watching Takeru through narrowed eyes.

"Maybe," Takeru Takeru replied as Pegasmon maneuvered downward to avoid Airdramon's own attack. "Don't you know that someone is destroying your precious towers?"

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Archnemon is dealing with your friends. I would have thought that you would have been smarter to come with friends. But here you are, alone as can be."

"Midnight clutch," a smooth voice called, Takeru ducking as a digimon swooped overhead. Pegasmon flew further down before aiming an attack upwards.

"Owlmon," The kaiser said, voice cold. The digimon turned, moving to rest like a falcon on the kaiser's outstretched hand. "Do you really think this is a game you and your....friends can win?" He asked, Pegasmon level with Airdramon once more.

"Yeah, I think so." Takeru decided. "You're going to get cocky, and when you do, we'll be able to bring you down."

"Or it will be the other way around." He said, voice nearly too soft for Takeru to make out the words. "You forget, you are still playing the role of a good guy. You could join us. It would be amazing to have you here, with us, Takeru."

Takeru clenching his hands harder into Pegasmon's mane, releasing when the digimon gave a snort of protest. "Not after what you did to our partners." He responded, fire flashing in his eyes.

"If I recall correctly, it was only Tailmon that I killed. You would have to look to your brother for the damage done to your own partner... But wait, were you not the one that caused him to dark evolve in the first place?" The kaiser asked, his eyes going wide at the revelation. He placed a hand over his mouth as he gasped, acting the part of shocked even as he laughed.

"Yes," Takeru said quietly. "I know the mistake I made, but I cannot continue to wallow in self hatred. There are things to be done. Like taking down you."

"You are disappearing, one by one." The kaiser said, holding up two slim fingers and smirking. "How soon will it just be four and two? Two gone, eight remain. Two gone, two left, twelve in total. The digital world fucked up in picking their so called chosen."

"You were here before." Takeru said, jerking his chin up and looking to where Owlmon was now hovering as the kaiser gestured about.

"Of course I was here before." The kaiser said with a shake of his head. "For a year and a half, I claimed what was mine, just to be knocked down from inside. Oh, you and your girlfriend had nothing to do with it. It was like watching a fly throw itself constantly at glass and failing each time to pass through. I’ve been here longer, longer than this physical body has tread in the digital world. Perhaps even longer than you and the others. What is realized can never disappear Takeru dear." He chuckled, the emotions on his face nearly unreadable as Pegasmon steadily flew backwards, the Airdramon pressing towards him.

"I mean before then." Takeru snapped, his gaze suddenly dropping when he saw that they were over water.

"How perceptive. Of course, it would be even more brilliant if you had guessed, instead of being told the history of mine here." The kaiser said with a shrug. Takeru's eyes flicked to Owlmon, the digimon turning his head away. He glanced down at the water, Pegasmon jolting to the right as something lunged out of the water, its attack nearly hitting. Pegasmon made a mad dash for for land, The kaiser's laughter following them all the while.

"Are you still playing around?" Daisuke called, standing on the beach. He flashed Takeru a look of annoyance, shaking his head "Don't you have work to be doing or something?"

"I don't know, weren't you sent to do that work?" The kaiser responded, Pegasmon darting out of the way of the two men. Daisuke winced as Takeru hit the sand, Pegasmon devolving without a word.

"I did the work, obviously. Otherwise I wouldn't be back so soon," Daisuke snorted. "Besides, Archnemon is doing just fine. The towers are working beautifully for her. If you really were interested in supervising her, you would have done it yourself instead of sending me."

Takeru backed away as the kaiser studied Daisuke, the Airdramon lowering far enough for him to drop to the ground. He straightened, turning his attention to Takeru. "I don't believe we're done here." He commented, voice cold.

"Taichi's taken," Daisuke told the kaiser, using anything to distract the man. Archnemon had told him, glee in her voice, when he saw her working with the towers. "Looks like Barbamon and the others are falling behind."

"They have time to complete the tasks at hand. Besides, that's their own project." The kaiser said, his gaze still pinned on Takeru. He walked over to him, Takeru bracing himself as he held Patamon in his arms. "I don't see what they see in you." He said, mere inches from his face. He lifted a finger up and brought Takeru's chin up, forcing Takeru to meet his gaze.

"We probably don't have time for this," Daisuke said with a roll of his eyes.

"You were the one that slept with him." The kaiser commented, Takeru letting out a growl and jerking his knee up. The kaiser's face twitched as Takeru's knee caught him in the groin. He took a step back, Daisuke turning his head away in order to muffle a laugh.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" The kaiser demanded, his hands twitching as he watched Takeru move away.

"No, are you?" Daisuke asked, shoving hands in his pockets.

"Very well." The kaiser said, turning and walking back to Airdramon. He felt Daisuke's hand on his shoulder, turning to look at the man.

"I love you, Ken" he said, leaning forward and kissing the kaiser. The kaiser let him, pulling back when he decided he had enough of it.

"The demon lords will do as they plan." He shrugged. Daisuke nodded, turning to see V-mon emerge from the water, shaking his head. He picked him up, a tired looking Wormmon devolving from Owlmon. Daisuke scooped him up as well, stepping onto the Airdramon after the kaiser with a disgruntled look the other could not see.

"I don't think they'll hold them." Daisuke responded, letting Wormmon down when he began to squirm too much.

The kaiser gave a small hum that he heard, but didn't respond. Daisuke looked at the two digimon, feeling the wound throb under the long sleeved shirt he had thrown on.

"I'm getting off here." Daisuke said, catching sight of an ongoing battle. The kaiser gave the command for the Airdramon to lower, giving Daisuke very little time to jump off with V-mon. The digimon looked at him curiously, Airdramon taking off once more.

"What are we doing?" V-mon asked, jumping out of Daisuke's grip.

"I want to help them." He shrugged, heading towards the fighting. He could see the Elephamon, Archnemon retreating from the scene.

He saw the trio discuss something amongst themselves, D-terminal already in hand. "V-mon, armour," he said, selecting the digimental of love. He watched Sethmon charge into battle, feeling the attention shift to him.

The others' partners moved backwards as Sethmon faced down the Elephamon, charging and catching the enemy with one of his tusks. Daisuke watched passively, the anger of his conversation earlier with the kaiser still pissing him off. He nodded at his partner when he returned, pulling himself up and looking back at the humans and their partners.

He gave them a small wave before disappearing, hanging on tight as he could to Sethmon and regretting the decision to ride him back to the base.

*****

It was quiet when Daisuke returned to the base, a cold stillness having settled over him. He let V-mon jump into his unhurt arm, the digimon pressing up against him. He had stayed away for as long as he could bear, the night halfway over as he headed into his shared room, relaxing to find Wormmon by the door.

"How is he?" He asked, the digimon looking up at Daisuke with sad eyes.

"He's himself," Wormmon said after a moment. "But he's sleeping now."

Daisuke glanced towards the bed, confirming for himself that Ken was actually asleep. He walked over, setting V-mon down and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Fuck, this week sucks."

"That's an understatement."

Daisuke glanced up, startled when Ken met his gaze, sitting up. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling the stickiness on his skin. He glanced up when he felt Daisuke's cool hand on his forehead, the man pulling him upright.

"Ken, please." He murmured, unsure of what he wanted to say.

"Daisuke," Ken murmured. "It's coming," he sighed.

"I know, but..." Daisuke shook his head, hair falling in his eyes as he tried to decipher what he wanted to say. "There has to be...another way, isn't there?"

"You told him?" Ken guessed, curling into Daisuke, enjoying his presence.

"Yeah," he said slowly.

"They have to destroy the base." Ken murmured, opening his eyes and looking up at Daisuke. "If they don't destroy the base-"

"They have to get through the dark masters first." V-mon murmured, stepping up to the pair, Wormmon trailing behind him, his antenna drooping.

"And they'll do it." Daisuke confirmed. "The center of the base, that has the digimental, right?" He asked.

"What are you going to try and do Daisuke?" Ken asked, before he shook his head. "Never mind, he's listening."

"We could end it now," Daisuke said, voice hesitant. "While you're still...."

"No, not now. They would not..." Ken frowned. "They...It's not right, not here. It has to be-" he coughed, Daisuke moving to sit him upright. He closed his eyes when he felt the rough hands push him away, getting up from the ground and brushing his clothing off.

"Repulsive," the Kaiser commented, grimacing. "What region are we above?" He asked, not bothering to look at Daisuke as he headed towards the monitors.

"Above the forest region, but it seems as if the combined movement of both the Dark Masters and the demon lords have begun to warp the territories around us." Daisuke crossed his arms, feeling Wormmon and V-mon hide behind. "If they keep it up, there won't be territories to be above anymore."

"That's okay, it's nearing the time. It doesn't matter what those fools do after that. They will have the run of whatever they want. I know where my sights are set." He slid his cold gaze towards Daisuke, rolling his eyes. "Why don't you go do something useful?"

"Standing here and looking pretty isn't useful?" Daisuke asked, sounding hurt.

"Maybe to the other one, but not to me. Get out of my sight." He suggested, Daisuke scooping up both digimon and walking out of the room. He heard the door slam shut, glancing down at Wormmon and V-mon.

"Whelp, let's go do something useful." He said.

"What are we gonna do?" V-mon asked as they walked away.

"Set free the ringed digimon." Daisuke said with a shrug.

"He's going to be mad," Wormmon mumbled, Daisuke shifting Wormmon to his shoulder, trying to think of a way to cheer the digimon up.

"Yeah, I know." He promised. "But he said something useful. He didn't tell me who it had to be useful to." He pointed out, hearing V-mon muffle a laugh in his arms. He gave the digimon a strained smile, stopping by his small room to grab food before heading down to the cells, making sure the digimon were safe as he set them free.

"Didn't we get in trouble for this once?" V-mon asked, almost hesitant.

"Sure, but I'm fucking tired of it." He explained, finding the bottom most level that contained cells. He began to move, making sure that the freed digimon knew where to go. He released only half, a splattering of guilt trying to creep up as he reminded himself that he couldn't release all of them once again.

With V-mon at his side, he headed back up to one of the upper rooms, grabbing food along the way. He headed into the room, finding Ken gone. He chewed on his lip, V-mon yawning while Wormmon stared at Daisuke, the digimon having been silent for the past hour.

"Go to bed," he suggested, nudging the digimon with his foot while he set his plate of food on the small desk in the room. Wormmon slid off his shoulder, Daisuke setting him down. "You too," he suggested.

"Okay," Wormmon said, climbing into bed and snuggling against V-mon. Daisuke watched them with a smile before he slumped into a chair. He up straight when he heard footsteps come down the hall, his mind jumping to the kaiser.

"Hello?" He called, stepping into the hallway and glancing in each direction.

"Hello Daisuke,"

"Oh, Lucemon, you're back." Daisuke said, dropping his hand from the doorframe. "What do you want? Don’t you have...I don’t know, a digital god or something to pester?"

"I wanted to let you know that it would be okay. And Qinglongmon is back to sulking due to the current situation. He even offered Takeru help and still, he has been as useless as Gennai! It really rustled his jimmies, as an American chosen once told me." Lucemon said, looking up to Daisuke.

"That's vague and unhelpful. And I don’t care, go back to pestering him." Daisuke pointed out. Lucemon shook his head, glancing over his shoulder.

"You care about your friends, don't you?" Lucemon asked, taking a step closer to Daisuke.

"Yeah, I do." Daisuke said softly. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something for the Kaiser?"

"I refuse to do what he wants to do. It has no elegance. I am prideful in my work. The others are sloppy, and will do what they want for their own amusement. I see no benefit from it." Lucemon said, sniffing and staring at Daisuke. "Do you see what I mean?"

"No," Daisuke said with a shake of his head. "But I guess it's some sort of answer. Do you have any idea-"

Lucemon held up a hand, looking over his shoulder. He stepped into Daisuke's room, shutting the door and shaking his head. "Midnight," he murmured, voice quieter than it had been. "When the clock strikes twelve, the shadow shall appear."

"Midnight, huh?" Daisuke asked with a frown. "This could be all over as soon as midnight?"

"If the others manage to break from their spells. The world is holding its breath," Lucemon explained, glancing towards the two snoring digimon. "What do you and your Ken have?"

"Love," Daisuke responded. "Dependence on each other. Knowledge that I will do what I have to, regardless of the consequences."

Lucemon reached into the bag at his side, holding out a sheathed dagger, offering the hilt to Daisuke. Daisuke glanced at it, closing his hand around the hilt with a grimace.

"Why help now?" He asked.

"This is not our way." Lucemon said, watching as Daisuke figured out how to affix the dagger and sheath to his belt. It felt strange when he rested his hand on the hilt, removing it slowly as he watched the strange digimon begin to pace. "We're digimon, first and foremost. We cause chaos when we can, because it's fun. Not, as many others seem to want, to destroy the worlds as they are. Sure, that may be the flavor choice of the week, but we can't keep fighting each other. This has to stop."

"I don't know if I understand," Daisuke said finally.

Lucemon laughed, looking up at him with a cocked eyebrow. "If we keep fighting, the worlds both will be destroyed. The only way forth is to walk in peace, regardless of what has happened in the past."

"Oh," Daisuke breathed, his eyes wide at the thought.

"Our worlds will merge, and co-exist, but they cannot with everything that is happening. You know your path, do you not?" Lucemon asked, locking his eyes with Daisuke. His gaze dropped to the dagger, the young man nodding slowly.

"I do," he whispered, jumping when the door was thrown open. He glanced up to see the kaiser standing in the doorway, fury written across his face.

"Do you know," he began, voice smooth as he stepped towards Daisuke, "what happened to the digimon that I had captured?"

"What?" Daisuke frowned, confused by the change of topic. He took a step back as the Kaiser moved towards him, anger in his eyes.

"Did you release them?" He demanded, settling a dark gaze on him.

"Nope, I was out seeing how tower building was going. Don't know why you still need them, with everything that is happening, but I do what you want me too." Daisuke said, which was only half a truth, but better than a full lie to tell him. "Maybe the others snuck in while you weren't paying attention."

"The dark masters are busy dealing with them." The kaiser narrowed his eyes, watching as Daisuke met his gaze.

"What do I gain by setting them free?" Daisuke challenged. "Come on Ken, you know me better than that."

"I do," he agreed. "Which is why I don't believe you." He raised his hand, Daisuke reaching out and catching it before he could be struck.

"I would never do anything to put your plan in danger Ken." Daisuke said, voice harsh.

"I have to wonder..." The kaiser let his gaze drift over the room, a look of disgust crossing his features when he saw V-mon snoring on Daisuke's bed. "If I find out you had any part of them disappearing again, you will have to answer. The results will not be very pretty, Daisuke."

"Of course," Daisuke said with a small bow of his head. He dropped the Kaiser's hand, watching him storm out of the room. He shut the door carefully, walking towards the bed and meeting Wormmon's fearful gaze.

"You'll only make him angry." The small digimon murmured.

"The angrier he is, the harder it is for him to think straight." Daisuke said with a shake of his head. "I hope," he added softly, sitting down and letting Wormmon crawl onto his lap for comfort.

"Be careful with him," Wormmon cautioned, closing his eyes. Daisuke let the digimon doze on his lap, his mind turning with the possibilities before him and the words that Lucemon had passed along to him. He felt his body go cold when he realized the full extent of what the digimon of pride had confided in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four more chapters here, and then four more in the Odds and Ends and this fic will be done! So excited and thankful that you all joined me on this ride


	12. Chapter 12

Daisuke leaned against the wall behind the kaiser, watching the reports flood in through the screen. He grinned quietly to himself, amazed at just how well the others were doing. His hand drifted to the dagger at his side, recalling the words that Lucemon had imparted on.

The events of the early morning weighed on him, the kaiser's moves voliatal and impossible to predict as more and more bad news filtered through. Daisuke cleared his throat, pushing himself from the wall and walking over to him. He stared at the man in front of him, hesitating before he reached out to touch his shoulder. He pulled back at the last second, shaking his head before he began to talk, willing to see how far he could push the kaiser.

"So, the dark masters are falling, the demon lords are losing control, it seems as if all your carefully laid plans are simply...falling apart Ken."

"Don't call me that." The man snapped, turning on Daisuke and raising a hand, the whip coiled in it. "That is not my name."

"Fine, fine," Daisuke said with a wave of his hand as he dismissed the words. "I didn't mean to upset you, just pointing out the obvious, that's all."

"Then why mention the failings of the others?" The Kaiser asked, stepping closer to Daisuke and lowering his whip. He reached up a hand, Daisuke freezing as his fingers touched the cut along his cheek, wondering if he could have ducked it. If anything, the kaiser's aim was scarily accurate when it came to him and that whip affixed to his side. "If you weren't so irritating, you wouldn't have been hurt, you know that?"

"Ah, I'm irritating now?" Daisuke asked, reaching up and pressing his hand against the Kaiser's, keeping it there for a moment longer before dropping it. "If I'm irritating, what does that make everyone else?"

"Useless fools," the Kaiser snapped, pulling his hand away. He turned, Daisuke holding still as the Kaiser walked behind him, his hand resting on Daisuke's shoulder. "But, as you are in love, I am not surprised that you would be a fool who decided he had to stay."

"They do say love makes one foolish." Daisuke agreed, tipping his head to the side. "What are we going to do?"

"Midnight draws closer," the Kaiser commented. "Once midnight comes, the plan shall be fully formed, regardless if the dark masters and the demon lords succeed in what they were meant to do."

"And what, pray tell, are you doing to do if they are not capable of defeating even one of them?" Daisuke asked.

"Wormmon," the Kaiser commented, Daisuke seeing V-mon look up from his hiding place out of the corner of his eye.

"You called him useless not two days ago. Fuck, I think you called him useless earlier today. You hate him." Daisuke commented, feeling the sting of the words even as he spoke them. "Besides, it's not like he's strong or anything."

"Wormmon," the Kaiser snapped, Daisuke wincing as the hand finally left his shoulder. He turned to face the Kaiser once more, watching the small digimon appear from some dark recess of Daisuke's room. "Of course he's been hiding in here. Honestly, I should have expected more from you. Releasing digimon, hiding my partner from me...useless."

"I didn't release anyone." Daisuke commented, the Kaiser glaring at him. He winced as the whip was uncoiled, the Kaiser turning his attention to Wormmon.

"No, but you have been hiding my partner from me." He commented. "That is nearly as bad."

Daisuke gritted his teeth, shoving his hands in his pockets and touching the D-3 there. He considered, briefly, having V-mon evolve, taking both himself, V-mon, and Wormmon far away from the base before he felt the dagger hilt press into his arm, reminding him that he had made a promise.

"Evolve," the Kaiser said coldly, watching Wormmon. Daisuke took a step back as the digimon-though bound to Ken, Daisuke knew how much he hated the Kaiser, how much Wormmon hated the thing that was controlling his partner-evolved, Stingmon standing in front of him.

"What's the plan then?" Daisuke asked.

"Evolve your digimon," the kaiser suggested. "There isn't any dark towers around to interfere." He added when Daisuke opened his mouth to protest. He nodded, V-mon hopping out of his own resting-turned-hiding place.

"Let's go outside then, there isn't enough room here for both of them." Daisuke said, watching the Kaiser turn and walking out of the room. He glanced at Stingmon, seeing the sadness in the digimon’s movements as they followed the Kaiser down to one of the main control rooms. Daisuke glanced at the digimental on the pedestal, standing across from the Kaiser.

"V-mon, evolve," he murmured, watching as V-mon evolved to XV-mon. The digimon stood in front of Daisuke, taking a protective stance as the Kaiser waved his hand.

"I've read about several different forms of evolution during my first two years here." The Kaiser commented, beginning to pace as he spoke. "Armour evolutions, regular evolution lines, digimon and digimon fusions, human and digimon fusions, all very different. But, in the end, they have one thing in common. Making a digimon stronger." He paused, stopping and facing Daisuke once more.

"What's the point of his?" Daisuke asked, shoving his hands in his pockets once more, feeling sick as the Kaiser clapped his hands, Archnemon and Mummymon appearing from the shadows.

"The forms of both Stingmon and XV-mon are compatible to offer a digimon and digimon based evolution, known as Jogress evolution. I want to see if the theory is true." The Kaiser spoke as if this were an average day for him, Daisuke swallowing at the implications.

"So what, you're just going to force our digimon to evolve together?" He asked, trying to find any sense of Ken in the person that walked around now.

"Of course, if it will offer a higher evolution with which to fight for. Oh Daisuke, don't tell me you have feeling for these weak creatures?" The Kaiser asked, raising an eyebrow. He had removed the goggles, though he still wore the stupid outfit. Daisuke glanced down at his own clothes, having replaced the digital world given clothes for something he found more comfortable upon finding his shit dumped near the Kaiser's base, courtesy of one Takaishi Takeru.

He hummed in response to the Kaiser's question, shifting from foot to foot as he debated his answer. "I mean, the digimon are smart. They have feelings of their owns. They aren't just puppets meant to be used for fighting Ken."

"What have I told you-" The Kaiser snapped, eyes narrowing before he laughed. "Ah, you're trying to reach out to that part of him. What a waste of time Daisuke dear." He whispered, making his way across the hallway. Daisuke froze as the Kaiser passed XV-mon, the digimon turning as if to attack. Daisuke quickly shook his head, freezing when the Kaiser pressed a hand to his cheek, forcing him to look in his eyes.

"There is nothing left of him." The Kaiser commented, his gaze flicking down to the dagger at Daisuke's side. "You may as well kill what hope you have left, Daisuke dear." He leaned forward, kissing Daisuke harshly. Daisuke closed his eyes as he waited for the man to pull away, counting the seconds before he finally did. "You should have killed him ages ago, if that's what you truly mean to do."

Daisuke pulled his hand away from the dagger, shaking his head. "You're right, the digimon are nothing more than tools. But I don't believe you when you say that a jogress-is that what you called it?-is possible between XV-mon and Stingmon. They're too different."

"Stingmon!" The Kaiser snapped, turning on his heel and staring at the digimon. The Kaiser reached over, taking Daisuke's left hand and squeezing it. "It does take two to jogress dear," he murmured.

Daisuke felt disgusted as he glanced at XV-mon, finding the solemn resolve in his partner's eyes as he digimon gave him a barely noticeable nod.

"XV-mon," Daisuke said.

"Jogress," the Kaiser said. Daisuke felt XV-mon hesitate before moving forward, watching the evolution silently. As the two merged, he glanced at the Kaiser, picking up a faint heartbeat and a taste of fear before it was overrun with something else.

"Dinobeemon," the Kaiser said with a gesture. "Archnemon, attack." He added. The silver haired digimon gave the Kaiser a look of frustration but did as instructed, dropping her human form and launching herself at the jogressed digimon in front of her.

"Spider threat!" Archnemon cried, scurrying across the hall with a look of determination on her face. Daisuke held his breath as the Kaiser watched the fight unfold, Dinobeemon flinging itself up and out of the way before screaming back an attack in return,

"Hell Masquerade!"

Daisuke watched in horror as the attack launched, Archnemon dancing her way backward through it, Mummymon interfering and pulling his partner out. Daisuke almost let out a breath of relief when he felt the Kaiser turn next to him, his anger directed to the two digimon.

"Was there a retreat order given?" He demanded, voice ice cold.

"Enough," Daisuke snapped, turning to the Kaiser. "If you want to kill them, then just fucking kill them then." He suggested. The kaiser glanced at him, eyes narrowing as Daisuke heard Archnemon and Mummymon both scramble out of the hallway, and he could see that Dinobeemon had already devolved, leaving behind Chibimon and Minomon.

"You really are a fool." The kaiser commented, Daisuke feeling the lash of the whip against his face. He didn't move as the Kaiser stepped closer, keping his body still. "I will not have you talk to me like that again. Prepare to leave, there is business to attend to at midnight."

"Of course," Daisuke said, listening to him walk out of the room before he quickly gathered the two digimon in his arms. Chibimon opened his eyes, frowning.

"That felt horrible," he whispered.

"I know," Daisuke murmured, falling to his knees and hiding his face. "I know, I'm sorry."

"I don't want to become him again," Minomon agreed, Daisuke nodding.

"Not for the Kaiser, no." He agreed, swallowing. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry. I never wanted this,"

“You promise we won’t have to do that again?” Chibimon asked.

“Not for the Kaiser. I think that a jogress is possible, in the right moments.” He admitted.

“For Ken,” Minomon added, Daisuke nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, for Ken, not the kaiser.” He agreed, freezing when he heard footsteps, picking his head up and watching the young Lucemon approach, worry on his face.

"If you didn't want this, why stay?" He asked, tipping his head to the side. "You could run away, never be heard from again."

"And leave them with a mess to clean up?" Daisuke whispered, swallowing and meeting Lucemon's eyes, feeling the blood drip down his cheek. "What's the point if I do leave him here alone? The darkness will only grow. You gave me the dagger with which it will happen."

"There's already nothing left of him." Lucemon said, voice not necessarily cold as he spoke.

"There's still something left of Ken!" Minomon looked up, watching the digimon in front of him, a fearlessness in his eyes that impressed Daisuke. "I can still feel him, deep inside myself."

"Yeah," Daisuke agreed with a nod. "There has to be something left of him. Not sure where or what, but something at the very least."

"You're trying to win a losing fight." Lucemon commented. "But strike when the clock strikes and perhaps you have a chance at avoiding a terrible death."

"Heh, I don't think death would be so bad." Daisuke murmured, glancing down at the two digimon before looking up at Lucemon. "Honestly, the only thing I have left to live for is my digimon and making things right."

Lucemon let out an exasperated noise, turning to look at the pedestal. "You could dismantle the base," he said, nodding towards the object on the pedestal.

"The others are coming soon, I feel it in my bones." Daisuke said. "If I do anything right now, it will be purely on me. With others here, I can use them as a distraction." He winced as he heard the drop of blood plop on the floor, moving a hand to touch the cut after making sure both baby digimon were secure in his other arm.

"Foolish humans," Lucemon whispered.

"Yeah, foolish," Daisuke agreed, glancing up to find himself alone with the two digimon. He stood up, eyes turning to the pedestal before quickly leaving the power room with a shudder.

*****

"What..." Daisuke saw Takeru turn as he appeared at the end of the hallway, the man looking surprised. "What are you doing here?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder before taking a step back. "It isn't safe for you here."

"Perhaps we should ask you the same thing." Takeru commented, taking in the haggard appearance of Daisuke. The man dropped his hands, shaking his head.

"No, really, you shouldn't be here." He said again.

"It's the digital world. I like to think that we're here because someone is trying to take over it. So, you know, I think we should really be here." Takeru said, taking a step towards Daisuke. The man shook his head, Takeru catching sight of the cuts on his face before he disappeared down a hallway.

He quickly headed around, recalling the words of Lucemon. It was hours after the botched evolution, his heart still stuttering over the thought of the pain that the digimon had suffered. He made another turn, reaching the power room and waiting.

It was several more minutes before Takeru appeared once more, though Daisuke was sure he had met back up with his friends between his disappearing and reappearing act.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Daisuke murmured, watching Takeru jump and spin on his heel, a fist raised. Daisuke held up both his hands, gesturing towards him.

"Can't say I'm not armed, but I don't plan on stabbing you, Takeru." He said with a shake of his head. Patamon jumped off Takeru's head, standing between the two men, ready to defend his partner.

"I...one thing doesn't make sense." Takeru said suddenly, glancing at the pillar behind him, just to the left of Daisuke.

"Only one thing?" Daisuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"When we confronted Ken, the second time you were in the digital world, you knew it was him." Takeru said slowly.

"Yeah...I knew." Daisuke said with a nod, wondering what would bring that up now.

"You told me that I knew and were upset that I didn't tell you that the Kaiser was....Ken. He talked about us hiding stuff from you, that he couldn't talk about his role in the digital world... But, later, you told me he told you." Takeru's eyebrows furrowing as he spoke, the confusion plain on his face.

"Guess I make a better actor than you thought, huh?" Daisuke asked with a raised eyebrow. He rested his hand on the hilt of the dagger at his side, Takeru flicking his gaze to it.

"Just like you don't mean to kill him," Takeru tried.

"There's...nothing to be done about it." Daisuke said softly, walking towards the center of the room. "Your friends are coming back, you know that?"

"I'm trying to get answers from you damn it." Takeru snapped. "Don't I deserve that much at least?"

"Why?" Daisuke asked, turning to him with a raised eyebrow. "Why do I owe you anything?"

"I...I love you, I love you and Ken both." Takeru whispered, Patamon taking a step back as Daisuke let out a laugh.

"It's not enough, is it? You can't just accept that we have to do this. You have to know every single reason behind it. Takeru, I don't know everything behind it. I told you what I knew. I played a bluff in the canyon. The Kaiser is not-" Daisuke reached a hand up, touching the fresh whip cut on his cheek. "He's not....There's no one here to fight you. Unless you count me, V-mon, and Wormmon. We're...he's...getting ready for something-"

"Takeru?"

Takeru looked up when he heard his name, turning to look at Daisuke. The man's gaze grew hardened, Takeru taking the chance to run down the hallway. "I think I found it!" He called, as he ran away.

Daisuke watched the small group reenter the power room, shaking his head as V-mon hovered near him, though they were both out of sight. 

"That wasn't me," the digimon whispered as the base shuddered, Daisuke reaching out to steady himself.

"Probably hit a mountain," Daisuke shrugged, hoping that the digimon got far enough away. His attention was taken back as he observed Hikari pulling away from Takeru's grasp, darting across the walkway and finding the digimental covered in a coating of black dust. She reached out, finding herself frozen when she heard someone clapping.

"How pathetic," a voice sneered, Daisuke's shoulders slumping at the sound of it.

"Patamon, armour evolution." Takeru snapped, reacting to the voice rather than a threat.

"Tailmon, armour evolution!" Hikari took a step back, watching as the digimon evolved into Goatmon, the digimon lowering her head and pawing the ground before charging at the Kaiser who had stepped around the power room base.

The man took a step to the side, grunting as the digimon rammed her horn into his side, tearing off his cape.

"Who wears capes anymore?" Miyako demanded, placing her hands on her hips. Daisuke muffled his laughter upon seeing Goatmon chew on the cape, staring the kaiser down.

"And what are you supposed to be dressed as? An airline pilot?" The kaiser snapped, Takeru watching as he pressed a hand ever so slightly to his side, the man letting out a curse under his breath.

"We're taking the digimental, we're destroying your base. And we're getting out of here." Takeru snapped, glancing to the side to see a frog digimon take Armadimon's spot. Miyako grimaced, Rinkmon joining the fray. "Man, if we could have pulled it off, we would have four animal digimon."

"Animal...?" The Kaiser tipped his head at the statement, gaze landing on Takeru as Rhinomon pawed at the ground, lowering his head. Daisuke shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest as he debated helping either side.

"Rhino, goat, frog...never mind. It would just go over your head anyway." Takeru sighed, head shaking as Rhinomon charged, the Kaiser snarling. Takeru heard Hikari give a cry of relief, turning to see her pull something off of the pedestal.

The Kaiser watched them, his eyes trained on Takeru as he spoke.

"It's too late, no matter what you do. Destroy the base, destroy the demon lords, the dark masters, just keep on destroying until there is nothing left, because there is nothing left for you here. The digital world, with the defeat of the dark masters, is in tatters. It's going to take ages to repair itself. Not to mention the damage that the demon lords managed to do in Japan before they were brought down... But it all ends here, doesn't it?" He glanced from the four, watching as Hikari scurried across the pathway to stand beside Goatmon, the digimon looking ill after having eaten the Kaiser's cape.

"If we wait any longer, we'll miss the time frame," Daisuke commented, stepping out of the darkness. He glanced at the others, Iori opening his mouth to say something. He shook his head, sighing. "Don't bother, it doesn't matter."

Daisuke rolled his eyes at the display that was Hikari and Takeru, Goatmon moving to block the Kaiser's path. He glanced over his shoulder to the other adults, shaking his head before stepping into the air below, dropping. Miyako let out a cry, Rinkmon darting over the side to see an Airdramon below.

"Five minutes before self destruction begins,"

Daisuke grabbed Wormmon and V-mon, dropping down as well and landing on Airdramon with a wince. He stood up, the kaiser turning to look back at him.

"You're going to go through with your plan." He stated, Airdramon picking the quickest way out of the base. Daisuke's eyes flicked up to the sky, watching the slash and view of Tokyo with a shudder.

"Guess so," he shrugged. "I'm with you until the end, right?"

The kaiser rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the rift and urging Airdramon towards it, face set on the plans ahead of him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final fight scene wasn't changed that much!

Daisuke felt the wind whip across his face. The chosen children stood across the field, Ken waivering next to him. He could feel the dagger at his side almost burn as V-mon glanced between Daisuke and the others.

"How did you free yourselves from the demon lords?" The Kaiser -who had taken so much control now and Ken was nearly lost to him because of it- called.

Daisuke's gaze landed on Takeru, the blond lifting his head up to stare them down. Determined to the end, though Daisuke was happy to see that he still wore the goggles around his neck, despite everything that had happened. He still trusted himself in leading.

"We found our own power Ichijouji." Taichi called, appearing at Takeru's shoulder. The ten chosen children, facing down the kaiser and Daisuke. It was almost laughable to Daisuke as he moved a hand, resting it on the hilt of the dagger at his side.

"Do we have to do this here?" Daisuke asked, meeting the Kaiser's gaze. It was completely him, he had barely seen the faintest flicker of Ken since the last early morning talk. He sighed, taking a step back. Beside him, Wormmon and V-mon exchanged glances. "Tell them what you want to say. I’m sure they haven’t heard enough monologues from anyone today." He suggested.

The Kaiser turned his gaze back to the chosen children, spreading his arms wide. The wind snapped his now replaced cape back, Daisuke stepping out of the way to avoid the fabric. Ten against two, the odds were ever in their favor unless....

"You have defeated the demon lords then. How pathetic, with their claims of mastery over sins. They were worthless, as you all are." The Kaiser commented.

"Yeah, they went down. It was a hard fight, but they went down." Yamato snapped, voice full of venom. "You won't separate us again Ken."

"Ken, Ichijouji, you use these names as if they mean something to me." The Kaiser commented, shaking his head slowly and laughing. A chilling, creeping laugh that even made Daisuke want to turn away. "This Ichijouji Ken you plead to is far away from here. Why don't you tell it, Daisuke?"

"What is there to tell?" Daisuke asked, resting his hands on his hips and glancing at the Kaiser. He drew the dagger slowly, the kaiser giving him an eye roll before turning his attention back to the chosen before him.

"Tell me one thing, do you truly believe that the dark masters and the demon lords are gone?" The Kaiser asked.

"Destroyed into data where they belong." Miyako snapped.

“No, they would have returned to the dark ocean, a place of true darkness, nowhere you would have ever gone perhaps.” The Kaiser said softly, Daisuke glancing at him.

"A blight on the worlds, that's what you and Motomiya are.” Iori spoke up, his comment making the Kaiser laugh. “I don't believe in killing, but neither of you deserve to live! How could you do this, Daisuke? How could you side with such a monster?"

"Did you never tell them?" The Kaiser asked, his grin growing impossibly large. "Oh, but you told Takeru, didn't you? He must have not told them."

"No, he probably wouldn't have." Daisuke said with a lifeless chuckle. "I don't think I told him not to tell them."

"Tell us what?" Hikari asked, her voice strained. Daisuke looked at the ten chosen, their digimon restraining themselves from fighting. The field between them was bare. He glanced down at Wormmon, crouching in front of him and reaching out to touch the digimon's head. It gave him a small comfort that the others probably wouldn’t have realized that Wormmon was even there. They had been too focused on the humans themselves.

Probably a mistake on their part. But either way, he didn’t necessarily care what they thought of him at that point.

"We discussed this, I'm sorry." He murmured to the small worm, watching V-mon reach forward to hold Wormmon back, making sure that he didn't interfere. "There's a darkness that lurks," he said, raising his voice so that the other chosen could hear as well despite the rising winds. "I've known about this darkness for years, I've dedicated myself to wiping out the darkness, as I was pleaded to do. The kaiser, he wears the guise of Ken, but it's not Ken. It's has never been Ken, except that first six months he was in the digital world. After that, it wasn't him fully."

He couldn't see the emotions that crossed the others' faces as he looked across the field. It was raining, the rain light, as if it could wash away the scene that was about to come. "Daisuke..." He glanced up when he heard Takeru's call of his name, the blond shaking his head. "There has to be-"

"No!" Daisuke snapped, watching him recoil, even from this distance. Daisuke stepped in front of the Kaiser, watching the man's cold gaze settle down on him.

"Do you think you can stop me?" The kaiser asked, arching an eyebrow and lifting a hand to Daisuke's cheek, touching the cut the whip had made. "There's so much that you could be good for, but you really are going to throw it away by trying to stop me."

"I'm going to do what I can." Daisuke agreed, drawing the dagger from the scabbard. He moved forward, aiming up as he plunged the blade into Ken's stomach, hearing the man let out a yelp of pain. He watched the coldness leave his eyes, leaning forward to catch Ken's body.

"Thank...you," Ken whispered, his hand dropping from Daisuke's cheek. "For freeing..."

"KEN!" Wormmon cried, Daisuke laying the dying man on the ground. He closed his eyes, feeling the tears mingle with the rain, recalling the day and his promise, feeling his resolve grow stronger with each passing minute.

"For you, I will." Daisuke pressed his forehead to Ken's forehead, realizing that there was screaming and yelling. And over it all, there was a laughter that was pouring out above them, louder than the rain that was coming down around them.

"Do you really think that you can stop me with a pathetic blade?"

Daisuke looked up, feeling himself be yanked away, the hand that had taken his gripping tighter.

"You should have killed him ages ago." The voice taunted. Daisuke shook his head, feeling Ken's hand lose strength.

"No, no no no no no!" He snarled, looking up to see the dark cloud above them. "That's not-you should have-" he's cut off by the beast's laughter, feeling Takeru's arms loop around his chest as he struggled against his hold. "You should have died you fucking bastard!"

"Had you even been a day earlier..." The voice chuckled, Daisuke suddenly going limp, his gaze landing on Wormmon.

"I failed," he whispered, feeling the crushing horror press around him. He felt someone press an arm around him, the weight pleasantly familiar though he was unsure who it would have been that was willing to get that near him.

"You have indeed. And with all the others watching. Now you have the blood of your lover on your hands. Whatever are you going to do?" The voice whispered. Daisuke looked up, realizing that Jou was kneeling next to Ken, working to slow the bleeding, yelling at Yamato to not remove the dagger.

He saw Ken's closed eyes then turned a determined look to the air above him, watching it solidify as VenomVamdemon.

"I'm going to do what I should have been able to do and take you down." Daisuke said, throwing Takeru off him. The blond stumbled back, eyes going wide as Daisuke gripped his D-3 in his hand. "I may not have acted like it, but I was chosen. Ken was chosen too. We have our partners by our sides, no matter what! V-mon, evolve!" He called, grimacing. He watched Ken open his mouth to say something, the man hanging on to life before grinning.

XV-mon and Stingmon stood side by side, Takeru frowning in confusion as he stepped back, watching the scene unfolding.

"XV-mon, ready?" Daisuke asked, feeling the ghost of a hand on his shoulder. He glanced to the side, clearing his throat when his digimon nodded.

"As ready as we can be," Stingmon responded, looking on as VenomVamdemon let out a scoff, rolling his eyes.

"Stingmon, XV-mon, jogress!" Daisuke called, watching the two merge. He felt Ken's stuttering heartbeat join his own. He gripped his hand tight, watching Paildramon jogress evolve. "Let's go, Paildramon, evolve!"

The first time he and Ken-actually Ken and not the Kaiser-had found the power to jogress evolve, there had been an undertone of bitterment that they knew it could never help. The others would never understand. Daisuke would have the blood of another on his hands. When it had been the Kaiser, Daisuke had felt nothing but hatred out of the formed Dinobeemon. Here, he felt nothing but love for and from his digimon.

 _It's okay, I forgive you._ Ken's voice breathed through their connection, Daisuke watching on in determination as Paildramon became Imperialdramon, shifting into fighter mode. he let out a whoop, feeling Ken's spirit smile.

"Hey, you fucking parasitic asshole, come down here and face someone your own size!" Daisuke snarled, feeling the strength of Ken's spirit bolster his connection to their jogress digimon. He jumped up, punching the air as the dark cloud began to take shape.

****

"VenomVamdemon," Takeru breathed, taking a step back as Daisuke began to yell at the cloud that was taking form. His mind was struggling to catch up, to make sense of what he had seen. Daisuke running through Ken with a dagger. The dark cloud forming above them as Ken smiled, him and Daisuke sharing a final moment.

Jou had lept into action, their digimon uncertain of what to do as Takeru moved forward, pulling Daisuke away before he physically attacked Jou. Maybe if Jou was quick enough, maybe if he was fast enough, they could save Ken. Then, the revelation of Wormmon-Ken's digimon partner, still able to evolve despite his partner laying there and dying-and V-mon, then the jogress revelation. He had wondered, when he had learned that Miyako and Hikari, and how he himself and Iori, were jogress partners, what would become of Ken and Daisuke.

He glanced over his shoulder, nodding at Patamon. "Iori!" He called, catching the young man's attention as VenomVamdemon took form. The man looked at him, questioningly. They were tired, even with having been gifted more strength from Lucemon. But now, Takeru felt a renewed hope flow through him.

"Yes?" He asked, seeming startled out of his own state of shock.

"Jogress?" He asked, holding out a hand.

Iori nodded, taking Takeru's hand and calling out to Armadimon. Next to him, he heard Hikari call out to Miyako. It was moments before Silphymon and Shakkoumon were on the field. He nodded at Iori, refusing to let his hand go. Across the field, he could see his friends evolve. He saw Rosemon and Vikemon standing close to each other, protecting where Jou was working on stabilizing Ken.

It was amazing to see his friends’ digimons’ ultimate forms, even in the face of what should have been a truly devastating scene.

He saw Omegamon grace the scene, VenomVamdemon's laughter filling him with dread.

Go forth and know that this is what I wanted.

Takeru frowned when he heard the voice, straightening his shoulders as he saw HerakleKabuterimon fly past, Hououmon's wings gracing the scene. He turned his gaze to the scene before him, VenomVamdemon seeming to morph into a noxious gas once more. He saw, as if from a distance, Archnemon and Mummymon scuttle across the scene, Archnemon saying something before she and Mummymon both were devoured by the digimon in front of them.

"BelialVamdemon,"

Takeru turned to the voice, watching as Imperialdramon strode towards BelialVamdemon. He nodded, glancing down in surprise when Iori took his hand, a grimace on his face. Their friends had fought their way out of the towers not more than an hour ago, the dark masters had been defeated not even two hours prior, and now they faced BelialVamdemon, back in his own form.

Takeru closed his eyes, feeling Shakkoumon surge through the fight. They were tired, but the fight raged on, Omegamon and Imperialdramon working in tandem.

"Everyone together now!" Takeru shouted, the digimon aiming their attacks. BelialVamdemon merely laughed, Takeru holding tight to his digivice. He felt a hand on his shoulder, Hikari and Miyako standing next to him and Iori. Slowly, the others joined while Jou still worked on stabilizing Ken, Daisuke refusing to leave his partner.

"He's growing stronger," Hikari whispered, Takeru taking hold of her hand with his free hand, shoving his digivice in his pocket.

"We're stronger still." Takeru promised. He closed his eyes, reflecting on what he had learned. "We walked the darkest path imaginable to get here. This thing puppeted a body that didn't belong to him for years. We-" he grimaced as he saw Shakkoumon be struck down. He closed his eyes, taking a breath. "We can defeat this thing, once and for all."

"We've taken him before." Taichi said from behind Takeru.

"All together," Sora said.

"No one left behind," Koushiro whispered.

"Regardless of our faults," Yamato nodded.

"We've always managed," Jou agreed from where he was looking down at Ken.

"Nothing separates us." Mimi cried.

"Together," Hikari, Takeru, Miyako, and Iori shared a glance, Takeru breaking into a grin. "We can do this," he agreed, watching BelialVamdemon take a step back, the rain seeming to lighten.

The ocean raged behind the digimon, Takeru feeling his digivice glow. Above the sky, he saw Omegamon and Imperialdramon seem to shimmer. He pulled out his digivice, watching the dual beams of light fly to the two digimon.

"It's beautiful," someone said behind him as Omegamon seemed to shimmer, enveloped in the lights. Taichi let out a low whistle, watching him evolve.

"Merciful mode," Koushiro breathed, identifying the digimon with his computer. BelialVamdemon took several steps back when faced with Omegamon in Merciful mode, Imperialdramon blocking his path.

"Thank you," Daisuke breathed, the eleven of them straining to watch the battle before it ended, the night returning to the storm that had descended before them. Daisuke moved through the field as if in a dream, retrieving both Leafmon and Chicomon with a strained smile.

"It's over," Takeru breathed, seeing the enemy defeated. He felt Iori release his grip, Jou looking up from where Ken still lay.

"I'm sorry," Daisuke whispered as he left, turning to look back only once before hearing what Jou had said.

"Dead," He mumbled, Takeru feeling frozen. He took a step towards Daisuke, suddenly realizing he had fled from the scene with the two digimon that had formed Imperialdramon.


	14. American Intermission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did Daisuke do in America? Why does he owe Mimi a pie?
> 
> How does he know Wallace?
> 
> *Feel free to read A Warm Housewarming prior to this chapter, located in the Quiet Nights Odds and Ends.
> 
> Thank you YurImperial for editing the pie scene specifically! I made pie one day and thought that it would make for a great scene for Daisuke. So, here we are!

Daisuke sat up in the bed, wincing as his head swam. The last remnants of the dream clung to him, the final fight unwilling to leave him. He couldn't recall where he had ended up, after the argument with his current roommate. He blinked in the dim light, turning his head when the door opened, a blond haired man stepping through.

"Takeru?" He asked in the confusion of a hangover, the young man stopping with a frown. "Damn, what the hell happened last night?"

"I found you unconscious in the middle of the street and being snowed on," the man said, Daisuke frowning. "My name's Wallace, and you are?"

"Oh, I'm...Motomiya Daisuke," he said, hesitance in his voice as he focused on the man that was standing there. "Er, thank you. I guess."

"Daisuke!"

The loud voice made him wince as Chibimon bounded into the room, Daisuke reaching up to catch him before he could bounce on him. "Not so loud," he pleaded, closing his eyes again.

"He was eager to see you, but I wasn't sure what happened, so I thought it was best to let you rest." Wallace explained, glancing over his shoulder. "Did you get into an argument with someone?"

"Eh, probably?" Daisuke scratched the side of his head, slowly shaking it to test just how much he could move. "Yeah, probably. An argument sounds right. Hey Chibimon, I don't suppose you know what happened, do you?" He asked.

"Nope," Chibimon responded, flashing him a smile. "Wormmon's angry with you though."

"Ah damn, of course he is." He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"You were told to seek a therapist's help though." Chibimon said with a nod.

"What is a Japanese chosen doing in America?" Wallace asked, leaning against the doorway curiously.

"I'm going to a culinary school," Daisuke responded. "Two year course, that sort of thing. I was accepted in mid August, didn't think I would go this year. Shit happened, and I decided why not?"

"And where have you been staying?" Wallace asked, the patient tone of his voice almost grating on Daisuke's nerves.

"With anyone who needs a roommate that can cook." He said with a shrug. "I don't have the money for a place to stay, not after paying for the college courses and the dorm rooms were too expensive, ya know?"

"No, I don't suppose I would." Wallace replied. "So, you were living with someone and got into an argument with them?"

"He does that a lot." Chibimon agreed, Daisuke reaching forward and clasping a hand around his mouth.

"I do not," he grumbled, Chibimon wriggling out of his grasp and turning to look at him with wide eyes.

"You do too." He responded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Wormmon would back me up and you know it!"

"That's neither here nor there." Daisuke decided, rolling his eyes. Wallace frowned, gesturing towards the dresser next to the bed.

"There's probably clothes in there that you can borrow. Not sure how well they would fit. If you want to join me for some lunch, it's cooking." He explained, turning and shutting the door. Daisuke got up, walking over to the dresser and pulling out clothing that he felt would fit. He put them on quickly, rolling up the sleeves of the shirt to uncover his hands as Chibimon watched him, a sadness reflected in his eyes.

"Are you going to be okay?" The digimon asked, Daisuke bending down and finding the bag that he had taken from Japan with him. He reached in, feeling the two D-3s and both D-terminals. He let out a sigh of relief to know they were still there, pulling out his recipe book-the one thing he had salvaged from the crap that Takeru had dumped in the digital world.

"It'll be okay," Daisuke responded, flipping it open and looking at the picture of him and Ken that they had taken together, Ken looking almost surprised when Daisuke had kissed his cheek. He grimaced as he touched it, shaking his head slowly. "We would have been dating for ten years on the nineteenth," he whispered quietly.

"Can you talk to Wormmon?" Chibimon asked, Daisuke turning to look at him. "He's not doing so well."

Daisuke slipped the book into the bag, fishing out his jacket and grimacing at its state, deciding that he could wash it later as he shoved it back into the bag. "Of course I will," he said, stepping out of the room and into the apartment. He followed the smells of cooking, Chibimon hopping up on his shoulder.

The pair found Wallace in the kitchen, standing over the stove as a Terriermon sat on his shoulder, offering quiet suggestions while he cooked.

"If you aren't a fan of what I make, you are welcome to try and cook yourself." Wallace told the digimon, Terriermon offering him a small huff before jumping down, turning to look at Daisuke.

"Wanna play?" He asked, his gaze darting to Chibimon.

"Not right now." Daisuke responded, watching the digimon shrug before wandering off. He glanced around the dining room, squatting next to Wormmon's chair. The digimon looked away, Daisuke letting out a mental sigh as he struggled with something to say.

"You should get help," Wormmon said before Daisuke could speak, turning to look at him.

"Yeah," Daisuke said, meeting his gaze. "What do you suggest?" He asked, Wallace glancing over his shoulder at the pair with a frown.

"An actual therapist." Wormmon responded.

"Ah," Daisuke tried to think through the hazy memories of the night prior, shaking his head slowly. "I'm sorry Wormmon, I've upset you again, haven't I?"

He nodded miserably, Chibimon jumping off Daisuke's shoulder and pressing up against the other digimon. "You aren't even trying." Wormmon muttered.

"That's-" Chibimon began.

"Nah, he's right. I'm not trying." He sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "I've been trying to push everything down with anything that would help me forget. It's not something that I should be doing."

"We don't even know where he's buried." Wormmon said, his voice wavering. Daisuke flinched at the words, feeling the guilt eat away at him.

"We'll find out, when we go back." Daisuke said, voice soft. "I'm sorry Wormmon, I shouldn't have-"

"But you did," Wormmon responded, looking up at Daisuke. "And now..."

"A year and a half, and we'll go back. I promise." Daisuke said, feeling Wallace's gaze on him. He glanced up, the American quickly returning his attention to his food.

"It's cold here." Wormmon responded, squirming away from Chibimon and hopping into Daisuke's arms. He clutched the digimon tighter to his chest, nodding in agreement. Chibimon jumped up on Daisuke's shoulder, Daisuke standing up carefully so as to not lose either of them.

"It is," Daisuke agreed. "But we'll be back soon. Maybe we can take a trip to the digital world, see how it's fairing. How does that sound?"

"How long is soon?" Wormmon asked.

"A year and a half," Daisuke responded.

"Do you three want food?" Daisuke jumped as Terriermon jumped up on the table, interrupting their conversation. "It's ready," he added.

"They were talking, you shouldn't be rude about it." Wallace said, glancing over his shoulder. "But, food is ready if you're interested."

"Sure, when do you want me out?" Daisuke asked, getting up to offer what help he could.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" Wallace asked.

"No, Daisuke got kicked out." Wormmon said quietly, Daisuke smacking his forehead.

"Right, the drinking issue again. Heh, oops." he gave the room a strained chuckle, shaking his head.

"I didn't mean to overhear your conversation, but perhaps I can suggest someone to see?" Wallace asked, glancing over his shoulder as he dished out the food into six dishes. "Lopmon, Terriermon!" He called, turning and setting the two dishes on the table. Wormmon and Chibimon glanced at Daisuke, Chibimon huffing out a sigh. Wallace brought Wormmon and Chibimon their own dishes, nodding at Daisuke. "Why don't we talk outside while they eat?"

"Sure," Daisuke said, taking his own plate and following Daisuke towards the small balcony on the apartment.

"What's the deal?" Wallace asked, taking a seat at the small square table. Daisuke took his own seat, looking at the plate in his lap. "I heard there was some big commotion in Japan mid August. I haven't heard anything over the communication network but-"

"There's a communication network?" Daisuke asked in surprise.

"Yes, Takeru Takaishi and Koushiro Izumi run it." Wallace explained, Daisuke nodding slowly. "They went silent for about two weeks near the beginning of August and no one has said anything about it, only that the gates are stable and...there's been a few news clippings about someone dying?"

"Right," Daisuke said, tensing at the mention of someone dying. He shifted, glancing at Wallace. "I don't suppose you'll accept the answer that someone died and leave it at that?" He asked.

"I was hoping for a full story. I know some Japanese and didn't mean to overhear but..." He shrugged, Daisuke tipping his head back.

"Three new chosen popped up to help defeat the evil known as Vamdemon who had been feeding off of a chosen by the name of Ichijouji Ken. On the nineteenth of August, technically at the strike of midnight, he ended up being...consumed? I don't know how to explain it. But he was stabbed to death in hopes of killing Vamdemon along with him, but at that point it was too late and Vamdemon reformed. With the eleven chosen in Japan, they were able to defeat Vamdemon." Daisuke said, detaching himself from the statement. He stared blankly over the balcony, looking down at the city below them.

"Oh," Wallace said with a small sigh. "You're welcome to stay here, while you're going to school." He said finally. "You and both your partners."

Daisuke's jaw clenched, his hand tightening around the plate in his lap. "Wormmon is not my-" he hesitated, shaking his head. "I mean..."

"It's strange for a chosen to have two partners, I know that." He said with a nod. "Terriermon and Lopmon are twin digimon that hatched from the same egg."

"Wormmon's Ken's partner." Daisuke said, sounding almost lost. "He didn't-"

"Ken, the man who died?" Wallace frowned.

"Yes," Daisuke said with a nod. "We were...he was my...Ken is-was-I killed him." Daisuke whispered, his hands shaking. He set the plate on the table. He placed his head in his hands, hiding his face. "He asked me to fucking kill him and I did it. How the hell are you supposed to continue living when you live with something like that?" He whispered, feeling the build up of tears. "How do you justify killing the man you loved for years?"

Wallace stared, speechless as Daisuke broke down. He set his own plate to the side, resting a hand on Daisuke's shoulder, hesitant. "Hey, it's not your fault." He said gently. "If it was something that was asked of you, it's not your fault. You're welcome to stay here while you're in school."

Daisuke swallowed, looking up at Wallace in surprise. "After...really?" He asked.

"Yes," Wallace said with a nod. "If you're willing to cook and go see a therapist. Maybe find a part time job or something...?"

"Okay," Daisuke said quietly, looking up at Wallace. "Okay," he repeated, more to himself than to the other man.

****

Daisuke shuffled into the kitchen, looking at the list on the counter in confusion, picking it up and bringing it closer to him. He glanced over his shoulder as he heard the water turn on in the small bathroom, letting out a sigh.

Lopmon appeared on the back of a chair in the dining room, watching Daisuke curiously. “What are you doing?”

"I'm going to make pie, per Wallace’s request," Daisuke shrugged and put the list back down. He turned to the fresh rhubarb that Wallace had returned home with that morning, dropping it in his lap with a statement that consisted only of the word pie.

"Out of this?" Lopmon asked, hopping down and going to poke the rhubarb that sat in a box. She glanced up at Daisuke, tipping her head curiously.

"Yeah, and I wouldn’t eat that raw if I were you," Daisuke warned, Chibimon guiltily setting the piece that he had picked up back down.

"He’s willing to put up with a lot, isn’t he?" Terriermon asked, appearing on the back of another chair.

"Yeah, well, I'm surprised he hasn't lost his patience with me," Daisuke admitted, pulling out a knife and beginning to cut the rhubarb.

"You went out drinking last night." Wormmon muttered from under the chair, Chibimon moving to sit next to him, out of the way.

Daisuke shrugged, letting out a sigh. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

"Ohhh, you broke the rules," Terriermon giggled, Daisuke closing his eyes, opening them quickly and yanking his hand out of the way as he brought the knife down, shaking his head at the careless action.

Daisuke hesitated, shaking his head as his gaze flicked to the four digimon staring at him. “I think more of... falling off the horse.” He offered, feeling the trembling in his fingers as he heard the water shut off.

"Could it be falling off the Pegasmon?" Chibimon suggested.

Daisuke grimaced at the mention of Pegasmon, his gaze settling on Chibimon. “Don’t push it,” he warned, lowering his gaze back to the rhubarb. He put what he had cut into a measuring cup, cutting up the stalks until he had four full cups.

"Don't you look fancy?"

Daisuke glanced up when Wallace walked in, the man dressed. Daisuke glanced down at his own half state of dress, having put on an apron over his boxers and shambled out of the spare bedroom when he had been given a box of rhubarb. He grimaced inwardly, glad he had dough chilling in the fridge he had -on a whim-made last night while mostly drunk.

"Morning," he said, putting the four cups of rhubarb into the bowl. He consulted the recipe, measuring out the seven and a half tablespoons of flour, feeling Wallace's gaze bore into him.

He moved onto the sugar, dumping in the full cup before eyeballing the one fourth of a cup, jumping when he heard something smack against the counter.

"Don't forget the strawberries," Wallace said.

"Yeah," Daisuke responded, getting the one fourth teaspoon salt. He consulted his recipe book, stained as it was, before grabbing the one tablespoon of butter, chopping it up and adding it to the bowl. He turned to the strawberries, shifting under the unfaltering gaze of Wallace.

"You look like shit," he commented after a moment.

"Suppose I do," Daisuke agreed, carefully quarting the strawberries, using the entire box. He began to stir, Wallace letting out a sigh.

"I thought you were getting better?" Wallace’s tone was one of concern, but Daisuke still felt it great.

"I am, I just..." He paused, trying to figure out the words that he wanted. "It's the nineteenth of August," he offered in way of explanation." Wallace frowned, glancing towards where Daisuke's partners were huddled, Wormmon looking droopier than usual.

"Ah," he said in sudden understanding. "Well, you were doing good. Would have been six months without drinking. Now you get to start over."

"Yeah," Daisuke said, feeling his jaw twitch as he set the bowl to the side, considering the area before him. He pulled the dough out, glancing over his shoulder as he heard the doorbell ring.

Wallace frowned, glancing over his shoulder and turning to the door, Daisuke feeling very vulnerable when he realized that he would be in full view of it. He set the pie stuffing on the counter, cutting it in half and setting one half to the side. He pulled out the rolling pin, beginning to work on the dough, keeping his concentration fully on it.

"Hey Mimi!" Wallace greeted, opening the door.

Daisuke jerked his head up when he heard the name, dropping the roller with a small curse when he met the former model’s gaze.

"You."

Daisuke took a step back as Mimi’s gaze narrowed. He felt his head swim, reaching out to steady himself on the counter, dropping his gaze to the counter. 

"Mimi?" Wallace asked, stepping into the line of view, blocking Daisuke from sight as he ducked behind the counter, hearing Chibimon snicker.

"He- do you- Wallace… What?" he heard Mimi stutter, taking a quick peek over the edge of the counter to see her trying to step around Wallace. "You do _realize_ that we thought Motomiya was dead, right?" She demanded, venom dripping in her voice. Her gaze was now on Wallace, the man grimacing.

"Dead?" Wallace seemed to consider the statement, glancing over at Daisuke briefly. "Why would he be dead?"

"He-"

"Mimi," Palmon sighed, Daisuke swallowing as he considered his options. It was too late to run, Mimi had already seen him. He could defend himself, but he only had a rolling pin and Chibimon would find it too humorous to help him. Wormmon was already sad and Daisuke had hoped that the pie would make him-

"That's why I made the dough!" Daisuke said suddenly, standing upright and smacking the rolling pin into his free hand. He winced, pulling the hand away and shaking it to get rid of the stinging sensation.

"I'm sorry?" Wallace asked, turning to Daisuke.

"It's the one year anniversary, so I was going to make Wormmon a... pie..." Daisuke said, meeting Mimi's gaze and taking a step back at the look of anger she gave him, her cheeks puffing out.

"Mimi!" Lopmon said, jumping across the table towards the woman, Terriermon following her and jumping up to Wallace's shoulder.

"So you two do know each other?" Wallace asked.

"I know of him," Mimi said, anger plain in her voice. "He was Takeru's roommate." She put the emphasis on the word was, Daisuke slumping his shoulders.

"Right, right." Wallace frowned. "Takeru’s the writer, right?"

"Yeah, blond, tall, has Patamon as a partner. Is completely devastated and thinks you're _dead_ ," Mimi began, taking a step around Wallace and walking into the apartment, Daisuke letting out a quick breath.

He considered the options before him. He stepped up, meeting Mimi’s gaze with a small bud of trepidation.

"You can't tell him I'm here." He said quickly, switching to Japanese as Mimi stopped, arching an eyebrow.

She straightened her back as he spoke. "There is no reason to not tell him, Motomiya." There was ice in her voice and Daisuke flinched under her words.

"Wait, you got drunk last night and were going to make Wormmon a pie?" Wallace interrupted, running through the conversation to try and catch up.

"I like pie," Wormmon offered with a shrug, Mimi's gaze glancing down to the two digimon under the chair, Chibimon looking up at her with wide eyes.

"But... he..." she said quietly, trailing off.

"Yeah, I know," Daisuke responded, seeing her gaze turn back to him. "Trust me, I've been trying to work that one out for a year now." He ran a hand through his hair, considering the options before him. "Please, you can't tell him that I’m here."

"Why?" She demanded.

"I'll... make you a pie?" He suggested, glancing between the rolling pin and the dough on the board in front of him. "Please Tachikawa, you can't tell him."

"He's mourning." Mimi responded, Wallace glancing between both of them with a frown.

"What's this about?" Wallace glanced between the two in concern.

"It relates to the fighting last year," Mimi explained, her voice dropping low with a sigh.

"I thought you were staying in Japan?” Daisuke shifted on his feet, setting the rolling pin next to the dough.

"I'm attending a culinary school here in New York," she said with a small shrug. "My parents still live here, so I can get a resident price, rather than an out-of-state price."

"Oh cool, Daisuke goes to culinary school as well," Wallace said with a nod.

"So you're not going back to Japan?" Daisuke breathed.

"Not until after I'm done," Mimi spoke hesitantly, unsure.

"Please, please don't tell him." Daisuke begged, meeting her gaze. "I will do anything you want me to if you just keep quiet."

Mimi chewed on her lip, shaking her head slowly. "I don't like it," she grumbled, glancing down at Palmon. "But, I suppose that we can do it."

"Mimi," the digimon sighed.

"You owe me," she warned, glaring at him. "And you will have to tell him that you're alive."

"It has to be on my own terms," Daisuke insisted, crossing his arms over his apron. Mimi's gaze flicked down to the scars along his arm, looking back up. She took in the stubborn look, letting out a long, low sigh.

"Fine," she said, turning to Wallace. The pair headed to the small balcony, Daisuke returning to rolling out the dough.

"Are you going to though?" Wormmon asked with a bitterness creeping into his tone. Daisuke glanced up, surprised.

"We are going to go back, I just… I can't yet." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Wormmon."

Wormmon turned away, Chibimon following the digimon back to their room. Daisuke sighed, Terriermon and Lopmon sharing a look before going to pester Wallace, Palmon, and Mimi out on the balcony. Daisuke looked down at the dough, blinking at it in confusion. He lifted a hand to his eyes when he realized he was starting to try, setting the rolling pin back down and letting himself grieve.

****

"What are we doing here?"

Daisuke glanced down at the worm digimon, his gaze turning back to the small house.

"We're going to live here." He stated.

"But it's so small." Chibimon said, walking towards it.

"Yeah, it has some work that needs to be done," Daisuke agreed, looking at the small house. "But, I think we can do it."

"And when are we going to talk to Takeru?" Chibimon asked.

"I'm...not sure yet," Daisuke admitted, dropping his gaze to the digimon.

"Can you pick me up a copy of his book?" Wormmon asked, Daisuke nodding as he walked into the house and set his three bags of stuff down. He glanced around, letting out a slow breath.

"So, I have a job at the small restaurant in town. I got the land really cheap. I was thinking we could fix it up, together. You know, build the house up, make it better." Daisuke explained.

"Why build a house?" Wormmon asked, glancing at him.

"I..." Daisuke sighed, running a hand through his hair as he considered the question. Chibimon lifted his gaze, watching Daisuke as well. He shifted under the weight of their stares, shaking his head. "I want a place where I can have a lot of people over."

Chibimon laughed, clapping his hands together. "But you don't have friends!"

Daisuke gave his digimon an indigentated look, horrified. "Wallace is my friend."

"You slept with him." Wormmon replied.

"So, he was pretty great to have sex with." Daisuke said, feeling his face heat. "It's not like we aren't both consenting adults. We can do what we want, ya know?"

"No," Chibimon said with a shake of his head.

Wormmon looked up at Daisuke, the man sighing and meeting the digimon's gaze. "It's not going to go past five years." He said finally. The digimon glanced away but nodded, Daisuke settling back as he began to walk through the small, one bedroom house. He stopped, eyes going wide when he saw the kitchen.

"This is amazing!"

He ran forward, realizing that half the house space was taken up by the kitchen. He ran his hands over the appliances, the two digimon sharing a glance.

"There's a hot springs in the back too," Daisuke said, talking more to himself than the digimon. "I bet, with a lot of patience, I can get the rest of the house to look just as fabulous as this kitchen. It's going to be twelve bedrooms at least, four stories high. Large enough windows that adult and higher digimon can fit through. That'll be on the second to fourth story of course..."

Wormmon glanced at Chibimon, the blue digimon letting out a sigh. "He's going to be at it all night." He told Wormmon, the other nodding in agreement. The pair wandered off to find the bedroom, Daisuke beginning to pace in the kitchen as he made his plans, glancing at the time and date on his phone. He watched as midnight hit, the date changing over to August nineteenth.

"Miss you Ken," he murmured into the empty air, feeling something touch him ever so gently before the feeling vanished completely, leaving him alone once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, as implied, Daisuke and Wallace totally fucked. They can bond over both having two digimon, right? Right.


	15. Five Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told from Takeru's POV, cause the other epilogue was in Daisuke's POV.
> 
> Thank you for reading everything that I've had to offer. I'm sure this story was meant to end completely differently than it did. Like, Ken wasn't supposed to die? They were supposed to have a happy threesome and be, actually happy, instead of killing a loved one, falling into depression, and other shit.
> 
> But happy stories sometimes aren't what is called for.
> 
> I will die with the KenDaiKeru ship tag however!

Takeru let out a low breath, tipping his head back and listening to the activity behind the curtain, nerves eating away at him.

"This was a bad idea," he said, turning to look at where Hikari was hanging around the table of refreshments. She blinked at him, swallowing the food in her mouth before nodding.

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "You are showing digimon off in a non-controlled setting with a thousand people." She pointed out. "This whole idea is stupid Takeru."

"Thanks, I feel so much better now." Takeru said, shaking his head. "That's not what I meant. I meant the book ending."

"The one where you totally end up banging Ken and Daisuke at the end?" Miyako asked, showing up with a grin, newly dyed pink hair falling down her back. "As far as book endings go, it's really terrible."

"I do not-!" Takeru spluttered, feeling his face heat at the suggestion.

"Well, that's what all the online forums are saying." She swung her phone in front of Takeru's face, laughing. "The ending totally implies that you fuck Ken and Daisuke. You can't not gloss over that."

"I hate you," Takeru said, slumping into a chair. Patamon shifted from his position on Takeru's head, his gaze glancing to Koushiro when he walked in.

"We're set up, just waiting for the signal." He explained, Takeru beckoning him over.

"Has there been any word?" Takeru asked, voice low. Koushiro slowly shook his head, letting out a sigh.

"None, not even a trace of V-mon or any of his evolutions in the digital world. I'm sorry Takeru, but I am keeping an eye out." Koushiro said, Takeru glancing up when he saw Mimi pause, the woman having caught the tail end of the conversation.

"Did you ask any of the chosen in America?" She asked, taking a step towards them.

"America?" Koushiro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There was a rumor a couple years ago. I could never get Wallace to confirm, but...." She offered them a shrug, seeing Takeru's face crumple. "It's supposed to be a happy day," she said hastily, taking a step back.

"Right," Takeru said, pushing himself off the chair. "I was hoping that something would have come from it, but I suppose it would make sense. He disappeared, probably won't..."

"Hey Takeru, what is the signal?" Yamato asked, appearing from whatever shadow he had been hiding in, Jou following behind in amusement several minutes later.

"From austranought to architect." Takeru said, his gaze sliding to his brother. "Not sure yet, guess it can be something like 'hit it'."

"That's a terrible signal." Koushiro pointed out.

"Perfect," Yamato responded, a grin spreading across his face. "Okay, 'hit it' it is." He fiddled with the remote in his hand, glancing up at the building.

Takeru nodded, Koushiro letting out a sigh. "Thanks Yamato." He grinned. "Everyone ready to get to your places?" He glanced up as the older chosen looked at him, Taichi shaking his head.

"You better be paying us well for this event." He teased, Takeru rolling his eyes.

"Talk to my agents, I'm sure they could figure out something." Takeru responded, turning and taking a breath. He listened to the person introduce him, the sound of the people clapping as his stomach flipped. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure that the others were where they were supposed to be, frowning when he noticed Miyako slip away, calling down to someone below. He shoved the thought away, stepping onto the stage as there was a second pair of footsteps running up the stairs. He sighed, knowing he would have to deal with Miyako letting someone backstage at a later time.

He took center stage, ignoring the people that were in front of him and pretending he was standing in his room, preparing the speech he now knew by heart.

"Welcome to the event of the final book in my trilogy. I wasn't expecting so many people here today." Taker let out a small laugh at the round of whooping, clearing his throat once it died down. "How many of you were able to read the story before coming to the event today?"

He raised an eyebrow at the amount of hands that were raised, hardly surprised but excited by the turn out. His attention was half split when he heard Iori's voice speaking in disapproval, Miyako responding with a tone of defense.

He rolled his eyes, hearing Iori's final statement that everyone was in place before he continued addressing the crowd in front him, none of the people having noticed his pause.

"It's great that so many of you read the book overnight! I know a lot of places did midnight releases. Just, about every single one in fact. Well, a lot of you were wondering why I would choose August nineteenth. It's, actually a really simple reason. I'm honoring the tragically short life of Ichijouji Ken. Who, many of you, may recognize as the child genius that vanished for a year and a half back in two thousand and two. Or, even more recently, a character in my stories. He played his part as both a villian and hero. Fighting against himself and trying to make amends. He was also...someone I loved dearly..." Takeru paused, Patamon clearing his throat to pick up when Takeru faltered. He let him, feeling warmth for his partner spread through him happily, though he was careful to not speak so the ear mic wouldn't pick up his words and overpower the small digimon.

"So," the digimon said, speaking into the microphone in front of him. "We're using today to honor the sacrifice that Ken made."

"And Motomiya Daisuke too." Takeru spoke up, finally getting back on track of the speech. "Many of you would know that in the book, it is a happily ever after. The character of Ken survives the stabbing. He's able to help the story by closing a cycle. But, usually life is not like that. The series that you read did happen. And, through the genius engineering of the first human and digimon partner in space, we were able to create a space, this very building, that would show everyone what we stand for. We were the chosen children, the first to start a path that brought Japan and the world into a stable contact to the digital world. With the connection open, many people have began receiving digimon partners. With each step forward, we can keep making our bonds strong."

He paused as there was muffled confusion, the people shifting in their seats. The show had not gone as planned and he still had more to say, but he didn't want to continue, not anymore. "Yamato, hit it." He said, taking a step to the side. He felt pride flood through him, hearing a shuffle behind him as Miyako spoke, her voice still hard to pick out, though Iori was clearer.

"This was why we weren't supposed to let anyone..." Iori frowned, Takeru's attention returning to Omegamon in the sky.

He heard more voices in the background, what sounded like a digimon. Takeru frowned before he pressed on, deciding to chew out Miyako for letting someone backstage after all.

"In the book, you see the presence of Omegamon, merciful mode. This is my tribute to a brave, young man, who understood what he had to do." Takeru murmured, clearing his throat. It had taken him a while to come to terms with what Daisuke had done, but in the end, he had understood what it meant for him to have done it.

"Go ahead and join them."

Takeru frowned, turning his head when he heard the voice, unable to pick out the words that followed. He felt anger rear up at someone stealing his thunder, though he wasn't sure why. This was supposed to be for Ken and Daisuke, not him.

"Paildramon, evolve." The man hummed under his breath, Takeru finally turning to see what was happening, who had been let back there. He felt his eyebrow twitch when he realized who was standing there, emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

"Still got it," Daisuke grinned, watching the dragon hover before shifting into fighter mode.

"Daisuke?" Takeru asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing over his shoulder as if to look for someone else, expecting... "But..."

"Weird, huh?" Daisuke asked, meeting Takeru's gaze. "It still feels like he's here when they do that."

"You little shit," Takeru said, walking over and smacking Daisuke with a copy of his book, the hardback leaving quite a sting. He glowered, Patamon muffling a laugh. "Did you know I thought you were dead?"

"Uh, you know the mic is still on, right?" Daisuke asked, taking a step back as he raised a hand to his cheek. "And...well, I mean..." He shrugged, Takeru feeling his eyebrow twitching. "Cool entrance though, right? Man, had I know that the building could do that, I would have rode Imperialdramon to the show and crashed that way."

"Who let you back here anyway?" Takeru asked, his gaze shifting to the now suspiciously absent Miyako. He could have sworn she was back there earlier.

"Now that's a secret for another day. I...I'm having a housewarming party at the house I just finished building. Would you be interested in coming?" Daisuke asked, Takeru frowning as he glanced towards the ceiling, watching Omegamon and Imperialdramon dance through the air, the event goers letting out a low gasp as the other ultimate digimon graced the area around them, Silphymon and Shakkoumon joining them last.

"You built a house?" Takeru asked, turning his gaze back to Daisuke as he processed the thought.

"Yeah, I needed something to do in the intervening years. I thought it would be fun. V-mon and Wormmon had a lot of fun helping anyway." Daisuke said. "Your mic is still on." He added, Takeru shaking his head.

"I'm going to kill you for disappearing on me." He warned.

"Takeru..." Daisuke sighed dropping his shoulders. "I'm sorry for abandoning you." He murmured. Takeru glanced over his shoulder, clearing his throat.

"If you disappear again when my back is turned, I am tracking you down. Mark my words." Takeru warned, turning back to the crowd. He rolled back his shoulders, clearing his throat and mentally sighing. "Sorry about that interruption. Thank you for reading everything I have written. It is based on a true story. But all tales don't end in happy endings. People die, they get taken over. For years, I debated writing an end that was different from what was published. But, there's a piece of me that still hopes happy endings are possible. There will be a meet and greet with the ten of us and our digimon in the park across the street. Any and all are welcome to join us for the four hour event."

The ceiling began to close again, Takeru taking off the mic and wrapping a hand around Daisuke's wrist. "Takeru, I-"

He was yanked back behind the wall, Takeru turning to look at him with fury in his eyes. "Why the hell would you disappear like that?" He demanded, stamping his foot in frustration. "And then show up out of the blue with no fucking word for five years-" He began, Hikari cutting him off as she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Takeru, calm down." She suggested Daisuke sighed, glancing to the side in what Takeru hoped was embarrassment.

"Five years Hikari." Takeru snapped, turning on her. "Do you know-"

"I'm sorry, but that doesn't change anything." Daisuke said with a shake of his head.

"Not to mention he technically fled the scene of a crime that he committed." Takeru said, dropping his hands and sighing, trying to decide what to do with the person in front of him. "Not that...we told anyone." he added. "They don't..."

"Where's Ken buried?" Daisuke asked, looking apologetic for interrupting. "I promised Wormmon I would take him there while we were in town."

"The park we're going to actually." Hikari interrupted, Takeru taking a step back and letting out a low sigh. "When Takeru got back to the apartment, there was a note stating that he wanted to be buried there."

"Oh," Daisuke breathed. "His last...oh.." He let out a defeated sigh, shaking his head before laughing. "That would be him alright. Using his last lucid moment to request something like that. Man, I'm an idiot."

"Really, that's what you're going with?" Takeru demanded, shaking his head. "Daisuke..."

"I'm not expecting any of you to forgive me." Daisuke said, suddenly growing serious. "I betrayed you, hurt you, fought against you, did everything I could to get in between you and Ken. There is nothing that can repair what trust I lost along the way. I've spent the last five years reflecting. I never deserved to be a chosen anything. The first thing I did was turn tail and flee when I realized what had happened. But, you have to understand that I did it because of Ken. He asked me, he knew what was going to happen. Maybe I should have told you the moment we were in the canyon and the Kaiser approached us. He knew of our connection, and he tried to use it to the best of his own abilities, but I knew the difference between Ken and the Kaiser, Vamdemon, whatever the fuck you want to call him."

"Takeru told us, that night." Miyako spoke up from where she had been standing, shifting from foot to foot. Iori glanced from her to Takeru to Hikari, clearing his throat.

"You were asked to do what you did. Bearing the burden of knowing that..." Iori shook his head. "Welcome back Daisuke." He said before walking away. Takeru let out a small laugh, Daisuke watching him walk away in silent confusion.

"The others are already across the street." Hikari said finally. "Is it really okay to take a thousand people out to do this? Not to mention anyone else that happens to come across this and decide to stay for a meet and greet."

"Digimon are becoming an everyday occurrence." Takeru pointed out, Miyako taking Hikari's hand as he spoke. "Why not? What is there left to hide at this point?"

"See you there then." Hikari said, waving and letting Miyako drag her out of the building. Daisuke glanced towards them before resting his gaze on Takeru, hands in his pockets.

"Sorry for crashing your party." He said finally.

"How are you still able to jogress?" Takeru asked, unsure if that was the best thing to ask at the moment.

"Oh, I have Ken's D-3," Daisuke said, pulling it out of his pocket. "He gave it to me before...well, yeah, I actually took it from him? Uhm, I mean, I can also have Wormmon armor evolve with the two digimentals I have. They don't get used very often but... When they jogress, it feels like I can still feel his heart beat. Like he's still here with me. His body died, but his spirit stayed on. I hear him sometimes, too...that sounds crazy,"

"So, a house warming party?" Takeru asked, rubbing his temples and letting out a low sigh. "You really crashed the biggest event to invite me and the others to a housewarming party?"

"It's a four story house with twelve bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, a hot spring in back, and several large windows to allow easy access for digimon to enter on the three higher floors." Daisuke explained, gesturing as he spoke. "It took a lot of work, and I had people help me when I got stuck, but otherwise V-mon, Wormmon, and I did it all together. I...it gave me time to think. That's the biggest reason for doing it. I felt terrible after leaving and-"

He blinked as Takeru kissed him, his eyes going wide. Takeru took a step back when he released Daisuke, shaking his head. "I missed you so much." He whispered, pulling him into a hug, feeling his grief and anxiety slowly fade now that Daisuke was in front of him. "I...thought you were gone."

"I'm sorry," Daisuke whispered, holding Takeru tight. "I..."

"I know," Takeru promised. "Just, promise me you won't leave again?"

"I won't, not again." Daisuke said, taking Takeru's hand. "Let's go!" He added, starting to drag Takeru out of the room. The man laughed, jogging to keep up.

Across the street was the most organized chaos Takeru had the pleasure of organizing. He had digimon at his signings, though he had never managed to get everyone together for something this big. He let his gaze scan everyone that was there, seeing Iori next to Shakkoumon, Hikari and Miyako standing with Silphymon. Taichi and Yamato were lounging where Omegamon was standing, Yamato looking half asleep. Koushiro and Mimi were discussing something while Rosemon posed for photos, HerakleKabuterimon hovering to the side. He saw Daisuke’s eyes widened when he saw Hououmon in her full form, Sora glancing at him with a frown. Jou was taking the time to explain something to a person in front of him, Vikemon lazing on one of the morning stars he usually carried on his back.

Takeru frowned, seeing Imperialdramon off by his lonesome, the digimon meeting Daisuke's gaze and relaxing when Daisuke grinned at him.

"This is really something you threw." Daisuke said, taking a moment to sit back and watch.

"Thanks, this way." Takeru said, tugging on Daisuke's hand. He ducked out of the way before anyone could see him, everyone too invested in meeting the digimon heroes to worry about the author at the moment. Daisuke raised an eyebrow but didn't complain, letting Takeru take him to a shady spot under some trees. "It's the best I could do." He explained.

Daisuke let go of Takeru's hand to wipe away tears that had formed, his gaze a look of wonderment as he took in the grave. "Thank you," he whispered. "It means a lot of you to do this."

"I just...couldn't not do anything, you know?" Takeru asked softly, watching as Daisuke kneeled in front of the tombstone."I loved him," Takeru said softly, finally admitting what he didn't want to.

"A little over five years ago, we asked if you wanted to...be with us. You said no because you knew he was the Kaiser." Daisuke said softly.

"You knew too," Takeru pointed out, glancing over at him.

"I knew there was a piece of him that was not him. That piece was Vamdemon. He sucked Ken's life up until there was nothing left...Takeru, will you..." He hesitated, unsure of what he wanted to ask.

"Yes," Takeru said, answering the unasked question. "But, for now, let's make sure that Imperialdramon doesn't get into trouble,"

"Please, they're well enough behaved-" he glanced up, watching his digimon with a small sigh. "So, housewarming party tomorrow?" He asked.

"Give me the address," Takeru warned. "And I will make sure to be there."

"It's an open invitation to everyone." Daisuke explained. "I have the guest bedrooms for everyone to stay..."

"Come on," Takeru said with a roll of his eyes, tugging Daisuke away. He smiled in happiness, glad that the rumors of Daisuke being dead were wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is, all the beauty and grace. I love this story.


End file.
